The Promise Broken
by GatherYeRosebuds
Summary: Sequel to 'In Her Glory'. When Lexiss & her friends flee the mansion after Stryker & his men attack, she is forced to face the inner workings of all her relationships through romance, fear, hatred, & loss. Rated for language, reviews appreciated. John/OC.
1. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hello, again! Welcome to the first chapter of the second installment of my X-Men series. Let's throw some confetti about, shall we? Anyway, as always, I hope you'll enjoy, and reviews are always welcome. I love readin' 'em.**

* * *

_Chapter 6_

She caught a snatch of conversation as she approached the table in the food court of the museum.

"Don't get shook up, we're just trying to have a good time here, alright?" she heard John say to Bobby.

"I think you're the only one having a good time," Bobby retorted.

"I'm having a good time," she said, pushing in between the two boys standing in front of her table and setting her tray down in front of the empty chair between John and Rogue. "Who are these guys?" she asked, gesturing to the two boys behind her. John flicked the lighter she had given him open and closed.

"They're brothers," he said. "They want a light."

She smiled. "Really, now?" She looked over her shoulder at the boys, appraising them. "Oh, I don't think they're worth it," she decided with a grin and a wink. John closed his lighter, and pointed at her.

"And that's why we make a great team," he said.

"When you're right, you're right," she shrugged.

Rogue looked at her. "Don't encourage him," she said, giving her an only slightly condescending look.

As she pulled out a silver chair from the table, the curly-haired boy who looked like the older of the two reached past her and grabbed John's lighter out of his hand while simultaneously snaking his arm around her waist. He pulled both back at the same time, and she stumbled back against his chest.

"What the-"

John stood up abruptly, knocking his chair back. "Hey!" he said loudly.

"Lexiss!" Rogue exclaimed, startled.

The boy looked down at her. "Lexiss, huh?" He grinned, and lifted his arm from her waist. He put it around her shoulders, and brought his hand in front of his face and hers to light a cigarette with John's lighter.

"Lex, come here," John said. Actually, demanded.

"I'll get right on that," Lexiss snapped, reaching up and pulling on the boy's arm.

"Why don't you just chill out, alright? She's in safe hands," the boy said, looking down at her, cigarette dangling from his lips. She glared back up at him.

"Heh," John started. "That's real cute, man," he said.

The boy dropped his arm back to Lexiss' waist, and he looked at John. "What're you gonna do?" he asked. "Suddenly you're not so tough…"

Lexiss swung. Reacting quickly, the boy caught her fist and twisted her arm behind her back, pulling her close to him again.

"I swear to God, I'm going to rip off your entire arm and beat you to death with it," she said lowly. The boy looked down at her.

"Ooh-hoo-hoo. That sounds like a threat," he said. He twisted her arm tighter, and she winced, looking at John out of the corner of her eye. She thought his arm might burst from how tightly he was clenching his fist.

John caught her eye, and then turned his attention to the cigarette in the boy's hand.

"John, don't-" Lexiss said warningly, but it was too late. He winked, and flames shot out of the end of the cigarette, and up the boy's arm. With a yelp, he fell backward, pulling Lexiss with him.

Bobby's arm shot out, and white ice crystals shot from his palm, coating both the boy and Lexiss with frost, and putting out the fire. The boy yelled more, and whipped around, trying to put out flames that weren't there. But then he stopped.

Everything stopped.

Breathing heavily and shivering, Lexiss propped herself up on her elbows, one in the middle of the boy's chest, and looked around. She jumped when someone put a hand on her shoulder, and whipped her head around.

John helped her to her feet, and rubbed her arms while she brushed the ice crystals off her face. She glanced down at the boy, and over at his brother.

"Dicks," John muttered. "They deserved it."

Lexiss turned around. "Come on." She stepped over the boy toward Bobby and Rogue.

"Sorry," Bobby said, glancing in Lexiss' direction. She was rubbing warmth back into her shoulder.

"Yeah, no problem," she said, a slight chatter to her voice.

Bobby looked over at John. "You could've hurt somebody, you could've started Lex on fire!"

John looked down at her, and she up at him. It was true.

"She's fine!" he replied, arms out to his sides. "Just cold, thanks to you!" That was true, too.

The argument was headed off by Rogue.

"Bobby, what did you do?" she asked, looking around at the entire cafeteria. Every other person in the room, besides the four of them, was seemingly frozen in time.

"Yeah, Rogue. Way to have confidence in your boyfriend," Lexiss said. John snorted.

Bobby glanced in her direction. "I didn't do this," he replied.

"No," a deep, male voice behind Lexiss said.

"Aw, damn," she said muttered. All four teenagers turned.

"I did," Professor Xavier finished, rolling his wheelchair to a stop in front of them. John put his hands on his hips. "And the next time you feel like showing off… don't." Lexiss swallowed slightly.

As everyone was silent after the professor's lecture, the male news anchor on a television suspended to a pillar in the center of the food court caught Lexiss' attention, and not hers alone.

"Breaking news. We're coming to you live from Washington, where there's been an attack in the Oval Office of the White House." Lexiss focused on the T.V., and turned up the volume.

"Details are still coming in, but we have been informed that the president and vice president were not harmed. Sources say the attack involved one or more mutants." She drew a breath.

"I think it's time to leave, Professor," Scott said over the television.

"I think you're right," Xavier replied.

* * *

"Logan!" Rogue exclaimed happily, catching him in the entrance hall of the mansion and drawing him into a short hug. "You're back!"

"You miss me, kid?" he asked with a smile. She paused, and shook her head.

"Not really," she replied.

"Ah," he smiled. "How're you doing?"

Rogue smiled. "I'm okay, how about you?" Logan shrugged his shoulders.

"Who's this?" he asked suddenly. Rogue glanced over her shoulder.

"Oh, this is Bobby, he's my-"

"I'm her boyfriend," Bobby finished, reaching out to shake Logan's hand. "Call me Iceman." Logan's hand started to turn blue.

"Right… Boyfriend?" He pulled his hand away, moving the fingers slightly, and looked back at Rogue. "So, how do you guys…"

Bobby and Rogue glanced quickly at each other. "Well, we're still working on that," Bobby answered. Logan nodded slightly.

"What about Bane? How's she?"

Rogue smiled wider. "She goes by Lexiss now. That's her real name."

Logan let out a dry chuckle. "Really?"

Rogue nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. She's really opened up since you left," she replied.

Logan glanced around the foyer, as if looking for her. "Where's she now?" he asked.

"I think she's tutoring," Bobby replied. Logan arched an eyebrow.

"She tutors?"

* * *

Lexiss and Annabeth sat in front of the couch in the upstairs rec room, hunched over two PlayStation remotes.

"No fair, you're cheating!" Annabeth wailed. Lexiss bit her bottom lip in concentration.

"I'm not using any powers, I'm just that incredible," she replied. There was an orange and yellow explosion on the screen, and Lexiss dropped the controller, arms raised in triumph. "Ha! I win again!" she said.

Annabeth suddenly turned her head. "Quiet!" she hissed. The older girl fell silent, watching her.

Annabeth's mutant power was that her five senses were extremely sharp. She could especially hear and see things better than any normal human.

Despite the fact she was a mutant, Annabeth reminded Lexiss of her own sister. It had been five years since her death; Trisha would have been twelve now, to Lexiss' eighteen.

Annabeth turned and stared at Lexiss. "Dr. Grey's coming," she said solemnly.

"Shit," Lexiss muttered, grabbing the two controllers by their cords and shoving them into a drawer under to T.V. "Get your books," she told Annaebth. Annabeth kneeled down in front of the end table and quickly pulled out two textbooks and a stack of papers and notebooks. "Sit up here," Lexiss said, patting the couch cushion beside her. Annabeth plopped down on the cushion and handed Lexiss a history book. Now even Lexiss could hear Jean's footsteps.

"What page?" she asked.

"266," Annabeth whispered back. Lexiss looked down at the book, and it opened. Native American removal. Annabeth had already pulled out the worksheet she had half-finished in class.

Lexiss started to read aloud about the Trail of Tears as Jean poked her head into the room. "Everything okay in here?" she asked.

Lexiss turned her head and looked at Jean over the back of the couch as if surprised to see her. "Fine," she answered. Jean nodded.

"Alright," she said, turning and starting back down the hall. Lexiss turned back around, and she and Annabeth sighed quietly in relief.

"And no more video games!" Jean called from down the hall.

Lexiss groaned, and turned to Annabeth. "What would I do without Dr. Grey to keep me in line?" she asked her. Annabeth giggled. "Alright, kid," she sighed, tapping the book. "Let's get something accomplished."

The two worked steadily for the next half an hour, and finally Annabeth's homework was finished. Lexiss stood up and stretched. "Well, I have my own homework, so-"

"Lexiss?" Annabeth suddenly asked.

She looked down at her, arms over her head still. "Yeah?"

Annabeth looked up at her. Lexiss had always loved Annabeth's eyes. They were white, rimmed with ice blue. "Do you like my brother?" she asked, all serious-like. Lexiss sat back down on the couch, laughing.

"Damien? Well, yeah, I like him. Of course." She stretched her legs out in front of her, and put her arms behind her head. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him for a while," she said thoughtfully. Damien's powers allowed him to converse and understand animals.

Annabeth leaned forward. "No," she whispered. "Do you _like_ him like him?"

Lexiss leaned toward her as well. "Why? Does he like me?" she asked suspiciously. Annabeth nodded, pulled back, and she sat, waiting for Lexiss' reaction.

"Don't get me wrong, Annabeth," Lexiss finally answered. "Your brother's a great guy, and if I hadn't met somebody else first, he would have probably caught my interest." Annabeth stood up, nodding to herself.

"That's what I thought," she said aloud. "It's John, isn't it?" she said. Lexiss' jaw dropped, and Annabeth giggled and started to gather her things together. Lexiss ignored the question.

"Are you mad at me because I don't like your brother?" she asked. Annabeth shook her head and laughed.

"Nope. I told him that if he had gotten a head start when you started tutoring me, he might've had a chance," she said. Lexiss arched an eyebrow at her.

"You're a very cruel twelve year-old girl," she said.

"But instead he was a chicken, and he waited until John found out about it, and now he's got this monster black eye," she finished, walking towards the door.

Lexiss sat up straight. "Annie, wait," she said. She turned.

"Hmm?"

"John hit Damien?" she asked. Annabeth laughed again.

"I think John scared him away," she giggled. "See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah," Lexiss said quietly. "Bye."

* * *

Lexiss raised her hand, hesitated, and then knocked firmly three times on the door with her knuckles. It opened nearly immediately.

"Oh… hey, Lexiss," Damien said half-heartedly. She winced, looking up at his face. His left eye was swollen and purple.

"Ouch… he really got you, didn't he?" she said despairingly. Damien didn't say anything.

"I'm really sorry about him, Damien. I've tried to keep him in check, I've really tried, but he's just so…" She stomped her foot lightly to accent what she was saying.

He smiled slightly, and laughed a little. "It's alright, Lex, really. It's not your fault he's a jealous guy," he said.

"And it really pisses me off that he's like that since we're not even together!" she said angrily.

Damien leaned against the doorway. "Officially, anyway," he reminded her.

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point!" she said.

"So why don't you talk to him?" Damien suggested. Lexiss started down the hallway, waving over her shoulder as she went.

"He's lucky if that's all we're going to do," she said.

* * *

"So, Lexiss and Pyro, huh?" Logan asked.

Rogue shrugged. "Well, kinda. Nothing's really official yet, but if any guy besides Bobby talks to her, John gets pretty angry," she replied with a knowing smile. "You should've seen him at the museum today…"

Logan frowned slightly. "Well Bane… er, Lexiss can't like that much," he said.

"That's what they're always fighting about, when they fight. They usually get along pretty well," Bobby said.

* * *

Things between Lexiss and John had blown together rather quickly. The two had instantly clicked, and had stuck together like glue ever since the Liberty Island incident. Lexiss really did care for John, as more than a friend. He had been there for her when she had needed someone she could really talk to about the serious stuff, even if he only half-listened, and she hadn't wanted to bog Rogue down after her rescue. He was interested in her, too, that much she knew, but he didn't seem ready for a relationship right now. That, combined with his bipolar fits of jealousy, often… frustrated her, to say the least.

She came upon John's room. Everyone had their own rooms now that they were older. His was on the same floor as the teachers' because he caused so much trouble and they wanted to keep an eye on him.

Lexiss pounded on the door once with her fist. "JOHN!" she yelled.

"Shit," she heard him curse from the other side. The door opened, and he stood there, looking down at her. "What?! What did I do?!" he said.

"_What_ in that thick head of yours made you think it was a good idea to go and hit Damien?!" she shouted at him.

"Damien's an ass!"

"Well, jealousy's a bitch, isn't it?!" Whirling around, she started to storm down the hall. She thought if she remained there, she might hit him.

"Lex. Lex!" she heard him yell after her. His door slammed shut, and he took wide strides to catch up to her. He caught her arm, but she pulled away.

"Don't touch me. Don't talk to me," she growled. At the end of the hall, she started quickly down the stairs toward the main floor. John followed.

"LEXISS!!" he yelled after her, stopping at the top of the stairs as if he expected her to turn around because he had called her name.

Lexiss stepped purposely down the stairs, but then came to a dead halt at the bottom, staring at the doorway. Rogue and Bobby turned to face her, but they weren't sure who she was looking at.

"Logan!" she said gleefully, breaking into a run toward him. She threw her arms around his neck in a giant hug. He spun her around slightly from the momentum at which she had come at him, and she then stood still on her tiptoes, smiling into his shoulder.

"We missed you!" she exclaimed, resting her hands on his shoulders and looking him over. "You haven't changed at all!"

Logan looked at the three of them. Lexiss could hear John coming down the stairs, but at the moment he wasn't even crossing her mind.

"Can't say the same about you guys. You cut your hair," Logan started. Lexiss grinned and nodded. Her dark hair, which had been a solid straight cut down to her shoulder blades when he had left, now only brushed her shoulders, had been thinned out, and she had wispy, feathery bangs parted to the side.

"And Rogue's got a boyfriend," she added. She saw him glance down at his hand.

"I've noticed."

Lexiss laughed. "And-"

"'Scuse me for a minute," John said, pushing in between Lexiss and Logan.

"John," she hissed, pulling on his sleeve. "Don't be rude."

He smiled down at her in a sickly sweet kind of way that was completely unlike John, and Lexiss immediately knew something was wrong. Her suspicions were confirmed when he bent, grabbed her around the knees, and lifted her onto his right shoulder.

"John!" she shrieked as he turned around and started walking toward the corridor opposite of the stairs. He raised his free arm.

"Nice talking to you," he said in a way that everyone instantly knew he couldn't have cared less.

"John! Put me down you _asshole_!" Lexiss yelled, trying to kick him and pounding her fists against his back. He rounded a corner, and Logan, Rogue, and Bobby disappeared from her sight.

* * *

John dropped Lexiss rather abruptly on the couch in the downstairs rec room and slammed the door shut. She bounced slightly, and glared up at John. "What the _hell_ were you-"

"Will you just _listen_ to me for a minute?!" John yelled over her. She sat back against the cushions and crossed her arms, glowering up at him. It wasn't like she had much of a choice.

John started pacing in front of the couch, running his hands through his hair. He sighed loudly, stopping directly in front of her. "I'm… I'm sorry, Lex." She arched an eyebrow.

"You said that last time," she said flatly, clearly unimpressed.

"Yeah, but I'm serious this time!" he said exasperatedly. She stood up.

"Oh, so you just lied to me last time!" she replied.

"No!"

He scrubbed a hand through his hair, pulled his lighter out of his pocket, and started flipping it open and closed. "It's just… when people… guys… I dunno, Lex!" he said, leaning against a wall.

"No, I know exactly what you're trying to say! You're jealous and possessive of something you don't even have!" She started towards the door. She turned halfway there. "And you know what? Don't even talk to me about being jealous of other people! You know, guys may like me, but I don't ever act on anything I hear or they tell me! God, John, you've gotta be one of the biggest players I know!" He didn't say anything. "I've waited for I don't know _how_ long for you to do or say something! Anything!"

Her gaze softened a little bit. "And you know me, John, better than anyone," she said. "I'm really impatient, and this is the most un-exclusive relationship I've ever been in. I'm tired of waiting for you."

She turned toward the door. John strode across the room, and as she reached for the doorknob, he grabbed her arm.

"Let me go."

"Hey," he said quietly. She turned slightly, and looked up at him, expressionless.

"What if we wanted to make it exclusive?" he said softly, looking down at her.

"What?" she asked.

"What if we wanted it to be just the two of us?" His hand came up, and his thumb rested against her cheek.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," she replied. His forehead dipped and rested against hers.

"Then I'll have to make you believe." His head and hers instinctively tilted in opposite directions, but just as their lips were about to touch, the door opened. Both of their heads snapped up, and their immediate reactions were to step away from each other. John cleared his throat.

Lexiss could tell Ororo was trying very hard to keep her smile to herself. "Um, Lexiss, could I speak to you for a minute?" she asked. A flush began to creep into Lexiss' cheeks.

"Yeah, sure," she said, staring at the ground and following her out the door.

* * *

Neither Lexiss nor Ororo said anything until they were far enough away from the room to not be heard by John. Ororo erupted into a fit of giggles first.

"I'm… sorry if I… interrupted anything," she managed to choke out, wiping her eyes.

Lexiss crossed her arms and glared at her. "Yeah, I bet," she muttered.

Once Ororo managed to get her laughing under control, she told Lexiss the reason she had been looking for her. "Jean and I are heading up to Boston to try and locate the mutant that attacked the president, and the professor and Scott are going out too, so we need you to baby-sit tonight," she explained.

Lexiss peered at her curiously. "You're joking," she said. "You're leaving me in charge of the mansion?"

Ororo quickly rephrased her question. "I need you to baby-sit Logan tonight," she said. Lexiss groaned.

"Aw, come on, Ororo! I don't wanna spy on the guy!" she complained, following her to the elevator. Ororo stepped in, and Lexiss stayed on the dark wooden flooring in front of the doors.

"Don't think of it as spying," she said. "Think of yourself as an overseer, making sure Logan isn't neglecting his duties." The elevator bell dinged and the doors began to slide closed. Lexiss slouched as Ororo waved at her. "I'll see you when we get back."

* * *

**Again, reviews are appreciated. Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 7

**Hey, everyone! First chapter of the New Year!**

* * *

_Chapter 7_

Lexiss hid in her room for the rest of the day after half-heartedly trying to locate Logan, in part because she didn't want to spy on Logan and in part because of her previous embarrassment when she had been caught with John. She was afraid that if she ran into him again, their earlier moment would be gone, and it would just be like they were friends again, nothing more.

Around ten o'clock at night – curfew –, she went to bed as usual, her head a swarm of thoughts. However, after an hour of trying to go to sleep with that kind of load on her mind, tossing and turning, opening the window and then closing it again, and changing her pajamas three different times, she finally gave up and climbed out of bed.

Creeping silently down the steps to the ground floor of the mansion, she decided to make some popcorn and fall asleep to whatever DVD was close at hand in the rec room. She paused for a moment in the hallway that went past the kitchen, surprised the light was on this late. Logan wasn't keeping curfew.

Lexiss shrugged and sighed, and walked through the doorway, glancing at Bobby, who was eating ice cream at the counter (a usual nighttime habit of his when he, too, had a lot to think about), as she stood on her tiptoes and opened a cabinet, pulling down a packet of popcorn.

"Hey," he said, acknowledging her. She tore open the plastic wrap surrounding the bag and threw it in the garbage.

"Yo," she said, nodding at him and punching three minutes into the microwave. She closed the door and hit start. "What're you up to?" she asked him, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed and turning her head to look at him. He shook his head slightly, spoon in his mouth.

"Can't sleep," he said after swallowing his chocolate ripple.

"Mm," she replied. The popcorn started to pop. "Me neither." She could tell Bobby was grinning. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Trouble in paradise?" he asked.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "What makes you ask?" she questioned flatly.

He laughed openly now. "John's not one of my best friends for nothing," he said. The popping sound inside the microwave increased.

"Yeah, well, I could ask you the same question," Lexiss retorted, crossing the kitchen to get a bottle of orange soda out of the cupboard. She pulled the top off and handed it to him so he could chill it. "Rogue says you're jealous of Logan," she added.

She suddenly reached across the counter to grab his arm. "Ah!" she said, stopping him. "Don't breathe in my pop," she said. "That's sick." He grinned and squeezed the bottle; frost crept up the side. "Thank you," she replied, taking the bottle by the neck and taking a sip.

"Anyway," she said, swallowing as the microwave dinged. "Don't freak out over Logan. He's like a father figure; I think Rogue realizes that." She pressed the door release button, and gingerly took the bag by the corners. She pulled the top of the bag open, and a burst of steam rose from inside. She started for the door.

"And don't be intimidated by that whole 'she's poisonous to the touch' thing either," she added breezily.

"Hey!" Bobby said loudly.

"Later!" She waved behind her as she stepped into the darkened hallway.

The first movie Lexiss found that appealed to her was some bloody, gory slasher flick she hadn't seen yet. Putting the disc into the player and selecting 'Play Movie' on the on-screen menu, she pulled the coffee table up close to the table and put her pop down on a cork coaster. She set her bag of popcorn on the cushion next to her, drew her legs up to her chest, and rested her chin on one knee as the movie opened with the slaughtering of a four-member family on a dark stretch of empty highway.

* * *

About an hour into the movie, Lexiss' pop bottle was empty and her popcorn lay half gone, cold, and forgotten next to her as she clutched a square navy blue pillow to her chest. She gasped and winced as the killer slashed through a young teenage girl's slumber party. One blonde girl's neck was so deeply cut that when another brown-haired girl tripped over her trying to flee, her head became completely dismembered from her body.

At that particular moment, a heavy hand touched her shoulder. Screaming, she jumped and slid off the couch, standing and whirling around.

"Whoa, hey!" John yelled, raising a hand to block any attack she might make against him.

"Johnny?" she gasped, slouching slightly in disbelief. Her hand dived for the remote to pause the movie. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you, sneaking up on me like that?" she asked, whipping the pillow at his head. He stepped back, out of her reach, and raised both his hands in the air, laughing.

"Just chill out, Lex, you chickenshit," he grinned.

"Shut the hell up!"

Lexiss turned and fell back on the couch with a sigh. When he was sure it was safe, he jumped over the back of the couch. She moved the popcorn to the table, and started the movie again, nerves slightly calm with another body in the room.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye. She had known it would be like this. John seemed to have completely forgotten about the things he had said earlier. She sighed. Best to enjoy what they had now, and hope that sometime in the near future she could bring it up again without making things too awkward.

"Oh, I've already seen this," he said. He pointed to the screen. "So, what happens next-"

"Shut up!" she said loudly, clapping her hands over her ears.

* * *

"Doesn't anybody sleep around here?" Logan asked, stepping into the kitchen. Bobby was still going hard at the ice cream. The container was almost half gone already.

"Apparently not," he replied, memory of the conversation he had had with Lexiss almost two hours earlier flashing through his mind. He wondered vaguely if she had gotten back to sleep. Logan opened the fridge.

"Got any beer?" he asked idly.

"This is a school," Bobby replied incredulously.

"So that's a no?"

"Yeah, that's a no."

He shook his head slightly, and sighed. "Got anything other than chocolate milk?"

Bobby gestured to the side of the kitchen with his spoon. "There's soda in that small cupboard." Logan got one down. He pulled the cap off, studied the younger man for a moment, and then handed to soda to him.

Bobby took the liberty of blowing into the top of Logan's soda to chill it.

"Thanks," Logan said, glancing at it.

"No problem."

The two of them sat in silence for a while, Bobby with his ice cream and Logan reluctantly with his pop.

"How long you been here?" Logan finally asked.

"Couple years," Bobby replied.

"And your parents just sent you off to mutant school?" Logan prodded.

"Actually, my parents think this is a prep school," Bobby answered.

"Oh, I see…" Logan shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I suppose lots of prep schools have their own dorms, campuses-"

"Jets?" Bobby added, eyebrow arched. Logan shrugged again, and changed the subject.

"So, you and Rogue, huh?"

Bobby nodded. "Yeah. It's not what you think. I'd like it to be, but it's just-" He stopped abruptly, realizing what he had been saying. He carefully finished the sentence, avoiding anything that might make Logan take offense and perhaps… kill him. "It's just that… it's not easy when you wanna be closer to someone, but you can't. Lex and John make fun of me for thinking about it, but they don't get it, they can touch each other all they want-"

"What?" Logan asked, setting down his pop.

Damn. This wasn't coming out right.

"That's not what I meant," Bobby said quickly.

"Better not be, for Pyro's sake," Logan said, more to himself than to the other boy.

"You know, I've seen how you look at Dr. Grey," Bobby said suddenly.

Logan tilted his head. "Excuse me?"

Bobby shrugged slightly, looking down at the container of ice cream. "Nothing."

More silence.

Then Logan's head jerked, and he stood up suddenly. Bobby watched him. "What is it?" he asked.

Logan put his hand out. "Ssh, ssh."

Bobby stayed where he was, half off the stool he had been sitting on, barely daring to breathe. Logan slowly stepped out into the hall, and then Bobby heard noise he thought sounded faintly like engines outside. He stood up quietly and tiptoed to the window, peering out and up between the bushes. He could see two helicopters hovering over the lawn.

He heard a loud thud and grunt behind him, and he whipped around, eyes widening as he saw Logan grappling with a man dressed in a soldier's uniform, camouflage makeup hiding his facial features.

"You picked the wrong house, Bub," Logan said through clenched teeth.

* * *

At that particular time, the television screen was blue, and Lexiss was sleeping peacefully, curled up against the back of the couch, her head resting on John's chest, which was slowly rising and falling with each breath. He, in turn, was on his back, stretched over the entire sofa, one arm under his head, the other around her shoulders. They had both fallen asleep watching the movie. They were heavy sleepers, and this was no exception.

Heavy sleepers or not, however, no one could sleep through Siryn's scream. The second that girl opened her mouth, her shriek filled the entire mansion. John's forehead hit Lexiss' cheek as they both sat up, clapping their hands over their ears.

"Why the hell is she doing that?!" John yelled. Even though he was right next to her, Lexiss could barely hear him.

"I… I don't know!" she yelled back.

The screaming from upstairs was so loud and shrill, Lexiss didn't hear the shattering of the window behind her. When Siryn's wail was finally cut off, she heard John yelling, "-OUT!" before he shoved Lexiss onto the floor and covered her with his body. Looking up, she saw a flash of silver in John's hand.

Before she could say anything, fire blossomed up from the tip of his Zippo and shot over the couch into two men with their faces painted with green and black and dressed in dark green body suits with black vests. They fell backwards with a shout. John grabbed Lexiss' hand and pulled her up.

"What is this?" she asked, looking around as John flung open the door and pulled her out into the dimly lit hallway.

"I don't know, but we can't stay here. Come on!"

* * *

"ROGUE!!" Bobby yelled, sliding to a stop and then turning sharply down a hallway. Once Logan had dealt with the soldier in the kitchen and started out for more, Bobby had disobeyed his order to stay where he was, and had gotten into the nearest elevator to get upstairs and find her.

She stopped, and turned around. "Bobby!" she yelled back, running up to him.

"Are you alright?" he yelled to her over the kids running and screaming down the hallway. He half reached out to grab her arms reassuringly, but stopped as she pulled back and he realized they were bare.

"Where Lexiss? She wasn't in her room, and John was gone too," Rogue said.

"Lex probably fell asleep somewhere, I saw her earlier," Bobby replied.

"We have to find them!" Rogue insisted.

"I know," Bobby answered. "Let's go."

* * *

Lexiss and John found Rogue and Bobby on the other side of the second floor by complete chance.

"Oh, thank God," Lexiss sighed, stopping and looking them up and down. "Are you guys alright?"

Rogue nodded. "Yeah, we're fine." She turned. "Piotr is helping the younger kids into the passageways. We've gotta catch up," she said. That made sense. Lexiss couldn't hear a lot of screaming anymore, and she had seen fewer and fewer children in the hallways.

"This way," Lexiss said, moving to go down the hallway to the right. John caught her arm, stopping her.

"Wait," John said.

"What?"

"Ssh!"

Then she heard it. There was a high-pitched beeping sound that was getting higher and shriller each second. "It's coming from the window," Lexiss said. All of them turned to look at it. With a bright white flash, the window suddenly blew inward. Rogue screamed, and Lexiss automatically raised her arm to create a small, square force field to block any flying glass shards.

"Run!" Bobby yelled. Scrambling around, the four teenagers started staggering and sprinting in the opposite direction.

"Like none of us could've figured that one out!" Lexiss yelled across to him sarcastically. "Got any more brilliant plans of action, Bobby McIceballs?"

They thundered down the stairs, and made it to the entrance hallway before they were stopped.

"Oh no," Lexiss heard Rogue gasp. Eight military men stood there, poised to attack.

"I'm sick of running," Lexiss said suddenly.

"What?!" Rogue cried.

"What can you do?" Bobby asked. Lexiss rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please."

Lexiss put her arms out in front of her, focused her telepathy on the stun guns in their hands, and threw her arms out perpendicularly to her body. The guns were ripped away. She growled, running for the men. "Lexiss!!" Rogue yelled after her.

She went in blazing, attacking with the first thing that came to her mind, both physically and power-wise. Xavier had taught her control and strength well. She was a top student. First, she would punch one man, and then use telepathy to knock the heads of another two together. She pulled a small knife from the belt of one, and stabbed the arm of another. Lexiss didn't kill anyone; she hadn't ever killed anyone before, and was not very eager to try. However, someone else had quite a bit of experience in that category.

With a yell, Logan leapt from the balcony above and fell upon the soldiers below. Together, they managed to knock down the rest of the intruders. They all lay on the ground, leaving Lexiss and Logan standing in the middle, breathing heavily from the effort. Lexiss put her hands on her hips, looking up at the others.

"That was so hot," John said, staring at her. She exhaled a small laugh.

"Let's go," Logan said.

* * *

He led the four to the front door, but when he pushed them open, everyone was bathed in the bright spotlights from the helicopters. Logan turned.

"Come on, this way!" he yelled over the buzz of the rotor blades. He led them upstairs to the passageways out of the school. Bobby threw his weight up against one of the panels, and it rose up. Bobby went in first, then John, then Rogue and lastly Lexiss. The girls turned around, expecting to see Logan following, but he was pushing the panel back into place instead of coming through.

"Logan!" they yelled before it slammed closed.

"Rogue, come on!" Bobby yelled.

"We can't just leave him!" Lexiss yelled.

"Now's not the time to be assertive, Lex," John growled. He grabbed her wrist and pushed her in front of him, forcing her to reluctantly run.

"Hey!" she yelled. Rogue followed until she could grab on to the back of Lexiss' shirt and pull her back.

"Wait, wait, you guys! We have to go back!" she pleaded.

"He can handle himself, let's go!" John said.

"They're gonna kill him!" Lexiss said.

"Bobby!" Rogue said. "Please!"

Lexiss stomped her foot and turned. "Come on, Rogue, we'll handle it. Let boys be boys," she said, running back up the damp concrete passage. She could hear Rogue's bare feet smacking the ground behind hers, and, after a few seconds, two more joined in.

"You ever get the feeling their attachment to this guy is deeper than it should be?" she heard John ask Bobby. She smiled a little.

Reaching the panel against the wall, Lexiss carefully opened it, trying to make as little noise as possible. Logan's back was to her, and he was facing a stocky, older man in glasses with several army men behind him.

"I've got this," Bobby said next to her and Rogue. Lexiss bobbed her head, and pulled out of the opening. John was pacing nervously in the hallway, repeatedly clicking his lighter open and closed.

"Stop it," she hissed.

"We need to get out of here," he argued.

"We can't leave without Logan. Besides, he might be able to find the professor, or Jean, Ororo, or Scott."

"You could do that too," John retorted. Lexiss blinked, and then somewhat impulsively hugged him, taking him by surprise.

"Thanks," she said.

They heard Logan shouting from the hall. "Logan, come on!" Rogue was begging. "Let's go." There was silence from the other end.

"Logan!" Bobby said.

"Go! I'll be fine!" Lexiss heard Logan say.

"But we won't," Rogue replied.

"We don't need him," John growled. Lexiss elbowed him.

Logan suddenly came through the passage door. "Go. Keep going," he said, pushing them ahead. Everyone ran for just a few seconds before there was a slight shaking from above. "Just keep moving," Logan yelled. "GO!!"

The passageway ended up in the garage of the mansion. Bobby got up first, and flipped on the lights. Logan, second, helped everyone up off the ladder. Everyone ran for the nearest blue car. "Alright, get in, get in!" Logan said. Lexiss pulled open the back door and slid in next to Bobby. Rogue took the front passenger seat.

"I'm driving," John said, pulling open the driver's side door.

"Hey," Logan said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe next time." John, after staring Logan down for a few seconds, climbed in next to Lexiss as she put on her seatbelt.

"This is Cyclops' car," Bobby realized. Lexiss raised her hand.

"I can hotwire a car," she volunteered. Rogue and Bobby turned to look at her. "What?" she said defensively. "John taught me!"

"Hey!" John shouted, hitting her shoulder with the back of his hand. Bobby and Rogue were twisted fully so they could both give the two of them equally disbelieving stares.

"No need, kid," Logan said. His middle claw in his right hand shot up. Lexiss couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but a few seconds later the car started.

"And you two wonder why you're the ones who need to be watched all the time!" Bobby said.

Two of the bright red garage doors opened, and Logan drove the car, tires squealing, out of the garage.

* * *

Once the car was on open road, the first person spoke.

"What the hell was that back there?" John demanded.

"Stryker," Logan said quietly. "His name is Stryker."

Rogue looked at him. "Who is he?" she asked gently.

"I can't remember," Logan said, pursing his lips. There was a slight metallic clinking noise, and Rogue pulled Logan's dog tags off her wrist.

"Here," she said, handing the tags to him. "This is yours." He squeezed them in his fist.

John moved in his seat, and stretched in front of Lexiss to reach up front. She pressed her back against the seat to give him room. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I don't like uncomfortable silences," he grunted, reaching for the radio. He pressed a button, and N'sync's _Bye Bye Bye_ burst out loudly from all the speakers in the car. Lexiss squeezed her eyes shut.

"Shut it off!" she yelled. John quickly pressed a different button, and the music turned off. The was a slight whirring sound, and what Lexiss thought was the glove compartment opened, showing what looked like a cell phone shaped like a silver X.

"I don't think that's the CD player," John said, obviously confused. Logan grabbed it, and turned it over in his hands, looking at it.

"Whoa," he said. Lexiss glanced at Bobby and Rogue. "Sit back," Logan told John.

"Yeah," Lexiss agreed. "And put your damn seat belt on." John gave her a slightly condescending look, but he did stretch the belt across his chest.

"Where are we going?" Lexiss asked, leaning up slightly.

"Storm and Jean are in Boston," Logan replied. "We'll head that way." Lexiss felt Bobby tense up slightly next to her.

"My parents live in Boston," he said after a moment.

"Good," Logan replied.

Lexiss got the impression that Bobby didn't think it was so good.

* * *

**Well? How did you like it? Good? Good. :) Anyway, enjoy the New Year, everybody. Happy 2008, hope yours goes splendidly.**


	3. Chapter 8

**Sorry, I know it's been awhile. I have good reasons, though! Last week I had Theatrefest, and then this week I had first semester finals. Ugh. You never truly loathe pre-calculus until you take the final. Anyway, welcome back!**

* * *

_Chapter 8_

Logan parked the blue Mazda in a cemented driveway, and the five mutants climbed out. Although the sun was shining, the air was chilled. Lexiss rubbed her arms as Bobby led the group up the house. After checking the front door and finding it locked, he pulled up the corner of the brown welcome mat.

"Oh, come on," she said, peering past Logan as Bobby stood up with a key in his hand. He ignored her and unlocked the front door, leading everyone into the house.

"Mom?" Bobby called out in the house. "Dad? Ronny? Is anybody home?" John was playing with his lighter again, flicking it open and closed. The house was clearly empty. Bobby turned to look at Lexiss and Rogue. "I'll try to find us some clothes," he said. Lexiss grinned, hands paused on either arm.

"Thanks."

He turned the other way to look at John. "Don't burn anything," he said. Once his back was turned, John sneered at him. Lexiss touched his arm, and he looked at her.

"Just ignore him," she whispered. "It's been a long night."

"Come on," Bobby said, gesturing to Rogue and Lexiss. The two girls followed him upstairs, where he showed them into his room. "Hang out here for a sec and I'll see what's in my parents' room," he said, leaving.

Lexiss circled the room, peering at the walls as she pulled her hair back into a messy bun. "This doesn't get any more preppy," she said, peering at all the sports posters.

Rogue laughed. "Oh, come on, it isn't that bad," she said, following Lexiss' cue and putting her hair up in a ponytail.

Lexiss gave her a mock scathing look over her shoulder. "Says the girlfriend," she replied. Rogue shrugged as Bobby returned.

"Hey," he said, holding out a pile of clothes. "I found some of my mom's old clothes. I think they're from before I was born," he said with a grin.

Rogue took the top outfit with a smile. "Groovy." Bobby handed Lexiss the other outfit.

It got uncomfortably quiet, and she suddenly got the impression she was a third wheel. "Um… Yeah… I think I'll change in the bathroom…" she said, sidling towards the door.

"Oh, um, down the hall two doors and then it's on the left," Bobby said quickly.

She nodded, slowing as she closed the door behind her. "Right…"

The bathroom was large and sparkling, constructed completely of chrome and porcelain. It nearly blinded Lexiss.

After she locked the door behind her, she finally got a good look at the clothes Bobby had found. There was a pair of very denim jeans, and a dark red peasant blouse. Frowning at her reflection in the mirror, she tied her hair back, and headed downstairs.

* * *

As Lexiss came down the stairs into the living room, Logan was nowhere to be seen, and John's back was to her. He was facing the wall of Drake photographs across the room, also in a change of clothes. Curious, she approached from behind.

"Hey," he said as she stopped at his side, not looking at her. She took in the picture he had been staring at. It was a posed photograph with Bobby and apparently his parents and younger brother.

"It's kinda hard not to be jealous," she said quietly.

"Of what?" John asked harshly. She ignored his tone. Lexiss knew John well enough by now to know it was a defense mechanism.

"Bobby seems to have it all, I think," she replied carefully. She knew this was sensitive territory. "He's athletic, he's popular, he's got Rogue, and he seems to have the perfect family."

John frowned. "I don't think it's that great," he muttered, flicking open his lighter and closing it again. Lexiss shrugged.

"I envy him. I might have chosen to leave my parents, but that doesn't mean we were this close to perfect. My dad was a drunk and my mom was a workaholic."

She could see in John's face he was through talking about this. He turned away from the pictures, and appeared to see her for the first time. "What are you wearing?" he asked with a snort. She glared at him.

"They're Bobby's mom's clothes from, like, the '70s," she answered. "It's not my fault they had two sons."

John opened his mouth to reply, but she suddenly held up a hand to keep him quiet. There was a very soft grating noise coming from the entrance hallway. "Do you hear that?" she asked.

"What?" John asked. He followed her out to the hallway, where she suddenly stopped short. There were figures on the other side of the frosted glass panes of the door, and the golden-painted lock was turning. John bumped into her shoulder. Wordlessly, she pointed at the door. "That's not good," John said.

"No shit, Sherlock," she hissed back. The door swung inward, and Bobby's parents and brother, whom she recognized from the picture on the wall, came into the hall. Bobby's father stepped forward as the door closed with a slam.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. Lexiss and John glanced at each other. She quickly took John's hand. He didn't pull away.

Bobby's mother glanced at her. "Are those my clothes?" she asked incredulously.

"Uh… heh… um…" Lexiss stammered. John turned slightly.

"BOBBY!!" he bellowed. Confusion crossed the faces of Bobby's family members. Just seconds later, Lexiss heard Bobby thundering down the stairs, and Rogue's quieter footsteps behind. Logan stepped out of the kitchen, beer in hand. Bobby moved in front of Lexiss and John.

"Honey?" Mrs. Drake asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Bobby, who are these people?" Mr. Drake asked.

"Uh, this is Professor Logan," Bobby said hurriedly. "And these are my friends Rogue, John, and Lexiss."

Lexiss raised her hand and wiggled her fingers slightly. "Hi," she said. Ronny glanced at her.

Bobby looked between the two groups of people, and took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you."

* * *

'Professor' Logan paced in the doorway leading to a bright, airy dining room adjoining the living room everyone was now in. Rogue and Bobby sat together on the end of the couch to the right of Mrs. Drake and Ronny, and Mr. Drake was seated in a chair across from Bobby. Lexiss stood next to John, who was leaning against a table to the right of Logan. She could tell by the way John was unable to stand still for more than five seconds he was uncomfortable even being in the same house as Bobby and his family while he was 'coming out' about being a mutant.

"So, uh…" Mrs. Drake started uncomfortably, "when did you first know you were a… a…" She was having a little trouble saying that last word.

John flipped open his lighter. "A mutant?" he finished. Lexiss looked up at him, and then across the room at Mrs. Drake. She and John stared each other down for a second. He closed the lighter, and snapped it open again.

"Would you cut that out?" she said irritably. Still watching Bobby and Rogue, Lexiss absently reached over to push his hands down. She hadn't realized John had absently turned the little metal wheel, however, and she put her hand down directly on top of the flame. Gasping quietly, she instinctively pulled her hand back almost immediately, clutching it with her other hand.

She barely had to focus on the injury for it to begin healing itself. Realizing how she had reacted to the flame, she looked up at John. He crammed his Zippo down into the pocket of his pants.

"John, I-"

He turned his head away, unable to look at her face. She sighed, and tuned back into the main conversation.

"We still love you, Bobby," Mrs. Drake was saying. Lexiss frowned, crossing her arms.

_Why wouldn't you_? she thought.

"It's just… this _mutant_ problem is a little-"

"What mutant problem?" Lexiss and Logan asked suddenly.

Mrs. Drake sighed. "-complicated," she finished.

"What exactly are you a professor of, Mr. Logan?" Mr. Drake suddenly asked. Lexiss looked across the room at Logan, curious to hear his answer. He tilted his head slightly, as if daring Mr. Drake to challenge the answer he was about to give.

"Art," he replied. John looked over at him.

"You should see what Bobby can do," Rogue said, trying to get back to the original conversation. Lexiss stood up straighter as she watched Bobby slowly reach forward. His index finger touched the side of Mrs. Drake's teacup. She could hear the faint sounds of ice crackling.

"Bobby…" Mrs. Drake breathed. Her cup touched the saucer, and she turned it upside down. Frozen tea slid out onto the saucer. Her hands were shaking.

"I can do a lot more that that," Bobby said proudly. Mrs. Drake set the cup and saucer down on the table before she had a chance to drop them on the floor. The long-haired cat leapt onto the table and started to lick the frozen tea. John chuckled a little in spite of himself. He still wouldn't look Lexiss in the eye, however.

Ronny suddenly sprang up from the couch and stormed up the stairs. "Ronny!" Mrs. Drake yelled, twisting around on the couch to watch him leave.

Lexiss' eyebrows furrowed slightly; she knew no family was perfect, but maybe the Drakes weren't as close to it as she had previously thought. "Hm," she muttered quietly to herself. She followed his heavy stomps across the ceiling.

"This is all my fault," Mrs. Drake sighed, shaking her head.

"Actually," John started, "they discovered that males are the ones who carry the mutant gene and pass it on, so, it's his fault." He pointed at Mr. Drake. Lexiss tried to hide that small smile that came across her face by putting a hand to her mouth and looking down. It probably wasn't the best thing to say, but that was John. Horribly, horribly blunt. And cynical.

Something caught her mind's attention upstairs, however. She glanced up, and focused on the only person up there. Two small voices suddenly started talking in her head, one male, one female.

"Please state your emergency," the female said.

"I need the police," the male – Ronny - was saying. "There are people in our house. They won't let us leave."

Lexiss' fingers twitched. "Damn it," she swore under her breath. She silently slid past John and strode over to Logan. She tugged on his t-shirt sleeve, and he bent down so she could whisper in his ear.

"Bobby's brother just called the cops," she muttered. Logan jerked up straight as someone's cell phone began to go off. Everyone looked around to see who it belonged to. Lexiss nudged Logan.

"Oh," he said suddenly, pulling the device he had found in Scott's car out of his pocket. That's what had been ringing, obviously. Lexiss hesitated for a moment before starting after him, but someone caught her arm, stopping her. She turned to see John gripping her forearm.

Lexiss stepped back, and he pulled her a few steps into the dining room Logan had been pacing in front of until the two of them were hidden behind the wall.

"What?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry," John muttered, shuffling his feet and avoiding her gaze. She held up the hand she had burned.

"Look, it's completely gone. And it was my fault, anyway. I didn't look before I touched. Sorry," she said. John caught her hand before she could pull it back and studied the palm closely where the burn had been.

"It's gone, John," she said quietly.

"I can burn you worse. I _will_ burn you worse," he said, a slight edge to his voice.

"Probably," she agreed. He looked at her, startled. "But I think I can take it," she finished, looking up at him.

"Lex…" he said, almost in a dazed tone of voice.

"Ssh…" she replied quietly, standing up on her tiptoes.

There was that feeling again. The sensation her legs had just been dipped in icy water, and the delectable shivers that ran up her spine and sent her fingers tingling that came with it.

"We're leaving- HEY!" Lexiss and John pulled away from each other abruptly.

"Oh my God…" Rogue laughed. She glared at her.

"Dude, seriously? Here? Now?!" Bobby said to John. John looked ready to kill him.

"We didn't do anything!" he replied angrily.

"Yet," Bobby replied.

"This sucks," Lexiss muttered to herself, crossing her arms. Rogue rolled her eyes and grabbed Lexiss' arm.

"Come on; we're leaving. You can kiss your boy-toy later," she said, pulling her out of the room.

"We weren't kissing!" Lexiss said darkly.

"You were about to!" she giggled. Lexiss pulled her arm away from her as she gave her a teasing smile, and was about make a smart retort when she saw Logan put out his claws. She suddenly remembered Ronny's conversation with the 911 operator.

"Oh no," she muttered, stepping up her pace. The four of them spilled out onto the porch behind Logan.

"Holy shit," she breathed.

The lawn was crawling with police officers, their cars parked haphazardly across the Drake's front lawn. Every officer in sight had their guns trained on Lexiss, Logan, John, Rogue, and Bobby.

"Well that was quick," she muttered to herself. A loud voice to her right reached her ears. She turned and looked past Bobby at the young, blonde man who was obviously speaking to Logan.

"Drop the knives and put your hands in the air!" he demanded. What was he, stupid? Lexiss opened her mouth to tell him so, but Bobby dug his elbow into her side to silence her.

Logan turned away from him and looked left. A blonde woman had her gun trained on Logan as well. The extremity of the situation suddenly struck Lexiss, and she felt as if a sudden weight was constricting her breathing.

"I said, drop the knives!" the male office said again. There was a banging sound in the back of the house, shouting, and then the sound of glass shattering. Lexiss had the sense of mind to grab Bobby's wrist to keep him from bolting.

"This is just a misunderstanding," Logan said. Lexiss couldn't understand how he could sound so calm.

"Logan, they're pointing guns at us!" Her words came out in a rush.

"I know," Logan replied.

"Put the knives down!" the cop said again. Logan looked over at him.

"I can't," he said. "Look." He slowly started to raise his arm; a sudden vision, the one aspect of her powers out of her control, overtook her sight, blocking out everything else around her. Logan, a small, silver bullet in his forehead, collapsing on the porch.

"Logan, no!" she shrieked, pulling out of it. Even as she started focusing back in on what was happening, the gun went off, and Logan dropped. Lexiss jumped and shrieked again. She watched a tiny drop of blood trickle out from the wound. She raised a shaking hand to her mouth. "Oh, God…" she whispered.

"Alright, the rest of you, on the ground now!" he ordered. She was too numb to think about doing anything else, and slowly got down on her knees. She laid down on her stomach, and then noticed she was looking at John's shoes.

"Look, kid, I said on the ground," the male officer said. John glanced down at her. That's when she noticed the Zippo clutched in his hand.

"Johnny, please… don't…" She fairly begged in a soft voice.

"We don't want to hurt you, kid," the female officer added. John shook his head slightly at Lexiss, and looked back up. Lexiss squeezed her eyes shut.

"You know all those dangerous mutants you hear about on the news?" she heard him ask. There was the familiar metallic clink of the lighter opening.

"No…" she whispered to herself.

"I'm the worst one." There was suddenly an immense heat against her back, and her eyes snapped opened. John had sent a fireball over her and Bobby to the right at the cop who had shot Logan, and was now turning to throw one to the left.

"He's gonna get himself killed," Bobby said.

Suddenly, Lexiss' moment of weakness vanished. If anyone was going to kill John, she was going to do it herself.

"Bobby," she said. "If I can distract John, do you think you can put out the fire?"

Two squad cars blew up as Bobby gave a hesitant nod, and then his eyes widened. "Rogue!" he yelled. Whipping her head around, Lexiss saw her starting to pull off her glove.

"Rogue, stop it! You'll hurt him!!" she yelled at her. Rogue's eyes widened, and she pulled her hand back a little.

"Do something, then!" she yelled back. Nodding firmly, Lexiss scrambled to her feet.

"JOHN!" she yelled. He ignored her, and proceeded to aim more fireballs at cop cars coming down the road. "JOHN, STOP IT! YOU'RE GONNA KILL SOMEONE!!" she yelled. He wasn't listening. He wasn't ignoring her; he simply could not hear her anymore.

Lexiss' mind frantically raced to find some way to snap him out of his trance. There were many ideas and options that formed into her mind, but she didn't pay much attention to those after the first came into her head. She needed something, and she needed it _now_.

She stepped up to John, managed to put her hand to the back of his neck, and pulled his head toward her own. Somehow, this wasn't the first kiss Lexiss had imagined, but the completely surprised look on John's face and the sudden lack of fireballs told her the idea was working.

Bobby leapt to his feet behind her and a cold blast of air brushed her back as he started putting out the fires. She pulled away abruptly and grabbed John's shoulders, pushing him down onto the deck. "Stay down and shut up," she muttered forcefully.

Rogue's eyes looked like they might pop out of her head. Lexiss gave her a look that made her drop her eyes, although she thought she saw the first traces of a grin spreading across her face. Lexiss didn't see what was so funny about John being seconds away from getting everyone, including himself, shot.

Lexiss looked back out at the front lawn. Bobby had succeeded putting out several of the fires, but several more were still blazing. Clapping her hands together, she focused on something that could put the fires out; water.

The insides of her hands suddenly felt damp. Cupping her hands together, cool, clear water polled in her palms. She raised her eyes to the flaming squad cars on the road and in the yard. Bringing her hands together again, she brought them back to one side, and then shoved them out in front of her. An immense blast of water shot forward, completely drenching two of the cars. The flames shrank, and then were smothered out altogether.

"Yes…" she muttered. Between her and Bobby, the fires were quickly put out. She lowered her hands slowly. The yard looked horrible. Minus the blackened police cars scattered across the yard, the grass was scorched, not to mention the completely wrecked porch. Thankfully, all the downed officers seemed to be moving. Lexiss rubbed her face with both hands. "Thank God…" she murmured.

Her hair suddenly started whipping around her head, and she looked up. The black X-Men jet was slowly beginning to land from above. "Ororo!" she smiled. The best surprise came when, after the four of them had stood to watch the jet, Logan got to his feet as well. He surveyed the Drake's front yard, and then turned to look at John. Eyes widened and laughing slightly, Lexiss threw her arms around Logan's shoulders. He gave her a small hug back, and then she stepped back so he could turn towards the jet.

"Let's go," he said.

Giving John a looked that clearly said she most definitely did _not_ approve of the shit he had just pulled, Lexiss leapt off the deck and started running with Rogue toward the plane in the street. The ramp had already been lowered. Slowing to a brisk walk, she climbed up it. Ororo ran to embrace her.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Pyro decided to put on a show," she replied darkly. Ororo let her go to give the others a look over, and she started up the aisles to the foremost of the captain's chairs. A blue, clearly mutant man sat in one of the chairs. He looked up, seemingly surprised to see her.

"_Guten tag_," he said quickly.

"Cool," she said, glancing at his tattoos before she walked past and slid into a seat two in front of him. Rogue sat across from her, and John and Bobby sat behind both of them. Logan sat up further by Jean and Ororo. He glanced behind him at the blue mutant.

"Who the hell is this?" he asked, stretching his seat belt across his chest.

"Kurt Wagner," the mutant said in a thick accent. "But in the Munich circus, I was known as 'The Incredible Night Crawler'-"

"Yeah, save it. Storm?" Logan interrupted.

"We're out of here," she replied.

Munich. That meant the blue mutant's accent was German.

The plane shook violently as Ororo turned over the engine, and Lexiss gripped her knees. She had always been an uneasy flyer. Actually, she avoided it at all costs. She turned, and saw Bobby looking out the window, down at his family home.

"Hey!" she called to him over the sound of the engines. He looked at her, and she flashed him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, Iceman. We're your family," she said. His look brightened slightly, and he nodded. Lexiss nodded back, and faced forward as Ororo and Jean lifted the plane into the air.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, please review!**


	4. Chapter 9

**Heh. My longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_Chapter 9_

Logan seemed to feel comfortable enough to wander around the plane without a seatbelt, but Lexiss was concentrating too much on keeping her stomach from tossing and on ignoring John. The latter wasn't very difficult; John hadn't tried speaking with her.

She held her breath, and closed her eyes, hand to her stomach. "Are you OK?" Rogue asked. Lexiss didn't move.

"Airsick," she muttered.

"I've got two signals approaching," Ororo said suddenly. "Coming in fast." Lexiss' eyes snapped open. A crackling voice came over the radio.

"Unidentified aircraft, you are ordered to descend to 20,000 feet. Return with our escort to Hanscom Air Force base. You have ten seconds to comply." Lexiss frowned, and peered out the window. There was a plane there, and she could see a pilot inside.

"Like hell," she said, as she raised her hand to make a rude gesture out the window to the pilot of the other jet.

"Lexiss!" Rogue laughed. Ororo looked over her shoulder and gave her a stern look. Lexiss turned away from the window, and crossed her arms.

"I was only saying what everyone else was thinking," she muttered.

"Somebody's angry," Ororo said, turning forward again and working the controls.

"I wonder why," Logan muttered, looking over his shoulder to give John a condescending look. John arched his eyebrows in return, challengingly.

"We are coming up alongside you to escort you to Hanscom Air Force base. Lower your altitude now." the female voice said over the radio again. "Repeat," she said after a moment. "Lower your altitude to 20,000 feet. This is your last warning."

No one said anything.

"Hey, look," Lexiss said, turning to look out the window again.

"They're falling back," Ororo said.

There was a sudden, high-pitched beeping noise. Ororo gasped. "They're marking us!" she said.

"What?" Logan replied quickly.

"They're gonna fire. Hang on!"

Logan quickly stepped back and sat in his seat.

"Shit," Lexiss muttered, craning her neck to try and see out the window. She double-checked her seatbelt to make sure it was latched properly.

With a sudden burst of speed, the plane shot forward. Logan stumbled into the wall next to his seat before finally sitting and pulling his belt across his chest. Rogue was fumbling with her belt.

"Damn it, Rogue, get it together!" Lexiss hissed across the aisle at her.

"I… I'm trying!" she said, panicking.

"Just chill out!" Lexiss replied.

"I gotta shake 'em," Ororo said. She turned the plane to the right to try and shake off the tracking, and then she turned to the left and flipped the plane through the air. Lexiss' mouth became dry and her palms began to sweat, along with several more symptoms of nausea. She put a hand to her mouth.

"I think I'm gonna puke…" she gasped at the same time John said, "Please don't do that again."

Logan glanced back at the two of them. "I agree."

Lexiss turned to flash John a slightly appreciative smile, glad she wasn't the only one with a weak stomach. Perhaps she could forgive him. No one had been seriously injured, after all, or so she hoped.

Then, with a start, she whipped back around, cursing herself. Damn It! She had already let him off the hook.

"Don't we have any _weapons_ in this heap?!" Logan yelled.

The sky suddenly began to darken. Lexiss could see swirling black clouds outside her window. "Ororo…" she said. Her question no longer needed to be asked as dozens of tornados suddenly descended from the clouds. She squeaked, and pulled hers knees up to her chest. "Never mind!"

Ororo maneuvered the plane smoothly through the tornados. The attacking jets were having trouble, however, as more and more funnel clouds formed. No one spoke. The plane shook, and everyone slid around in their seats. Lexiss' nails were digging into her jeans when the storms started to clear. Jean turned around.

"Everybody OK back there?" she asked.

"No," Logan quickly answered. Lexiss managed to unclench her jaw so she could answer.

"I'll let you know when my stomach stops trying to force its way up my throat, thanks," she said faintly, sagging against the back of her chair and closing her eyes. They snapped open again just a few seconds later as the beeping sound from the radar screen resumed. "What? Why is it back?" she asked, letting her feet drop to the floor. After she spoke, however, she could sense what they were. "Oh my God…!" she gasped softly, eyes widening.

"There's two of 'em!" Ororo gasped. No one needed to ask what there were two of. Lexiss could suddenly sense Jean using her powers against the missiles. Seconds later, one of the missiles exploded, shaking the plane slightly.

"There's one more!" Ororo told her. Lexiss could feel Jean's powers fading.

"Oh God!" Jean breathed.

Ororo whipped around. "LEXISS!"

She already had a picture of the missile in her mind, and was focusing all of her mental energy on it. Although both Jean and the professor had been training her mind with her telepathy, it wasn't her strong point. She was far better at forming things with and in her hands. The missile was already too close to the jet, and in all her practices, Lexiss had had a substantial amount of time to prepare and gather her strength. At the very last second, she threw her arms over her head and pulled her knees up again. "DAMN IT!"

She had managed to tilt the missile upwards, but the tail of it still grazed the top of the jet, setting it off. The explosion forced the plane forward into a spiral, and Lexiss' head snapped back and hit the back of her chair.

The explosion also broke a gaping hole in the top of the jet. The air being sucked from the cabin forced her hair back and her eyes open in time to see Rogue being pulled out of her seat. She had never managed to get her seatbelt on, and she was sucked up out the plane screaming.

"ROGUE!" Bobby yelled, reaching out for her. Not wasting time with words, Lexiss turned to pull off her seatbelt. She could save her.

A pair of hands slid through a gap in the back of her seat to cover the latch on her seatbelt. She twisted around in her seat to look at John.

"Don't even think about it!" he shouted at her. She glared at him, and tried to pull his fingers off the release.

"ROGUE!!" Bobby yelled again.

"No!" Logan shouted, turning around.

"LET GO!" Lexiss yelled at John, desperately trying to pry up his fingers. They just seemed to wrap tighter around the latch.

There was a slight _poof_ing noise, and Lexiss turned her head around. She could barely see past John's seat – and his arrogantly determined face, the asshole – but Kurt was gone, and faint traces of black smoke remained. He was a teleporter, she realized. He was a teleporter, and he had gone to get Rogue.

Lexiss relaxed her hands, and stopped trying to break John's fingers. She jumped as Rogue and Kurt suddenly appeared amidst more black smoke in the aisle of the plane. With a relieved sigh, Lexiss fell back against her seat. John slowly slid his hands out from underneath hers, and sat back against his. She knew he was relieved too.

That's when she noticed the plane was spiraling toward the ground, out of control. Ororo was trying to regain power, but the controls were not responding. The plane clearly didn't have enough power to keep itself in the air, especially not with a gaping hole in the top.

Lexiss looked out the window to see where the plan would crash. There was a large forest as far as she could see. She would probably get impaled by a tree branch.

Well, that was just fantastic.

She pounded her fist against the small window in frustration. There had to be something she-

The hole in the plane's roof was closing slightly with several fragments that had remained somewhat intact around the edges. She leaned as far as she could out into the aisle so she could see out the windshield. The trees were rapidly approaching.

"Jean?" Ororo asked frantically.

"It's not me!" she replied. Lexiss frowned; there went her first guess.

The plane slowed dramatically, and then stopped altogether suddenly, almost vertically. Her head hung forward, and she breathed heavily.

"I'm not dead…" she realized, quickly pushing her hair behind her ears with shaky hands. Swallowing, she tilted her head to look out the windshield again. Someone outside of the jet had saved everyone on board from crashing.

Two people stood outside the plane. Two very familiar people. Two people Lexiss had wished a month ago with her whole being she would never have to see again.

* * *

Magneto set the plane on the grassy slope in the middle of the woods, and everyone got to wobbly legs and started to get off. Ororo, regaining her composure quickly, strode to the back of the plane, opened a storage hold in the wall and pulled out a few navy, thin, zippered jackets with the logo of the X-Men on either sleeve. She gave one to Lexiss, and she flashed her a grateful smile as she pulled it on and zipped it nearly to her chin. It fit snugly around her body, but offered welcome warmth. Ororo gave Rogue one as well, who had quickly climbed off Kurt and went to Bobby. John was the first one off the plane, loping past Lexiss without a word.

"Wait, John!" she called. "John!" She tripped over Kurt, turned and quickly apologized to the German mutant, and took fast steps to the exit ramp. Once she had gotten there, however, she couldn't see where he had gone. She swore under her breath.

A hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned.

"Rogue!"

Lexiss threw her arms around her neck, which was now protected by the collar of her jacket. Rogue hugged her in return just as tightly.

After they pulled back, Lexiss asked, "Are you alright?"

Rogue nodded. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet, but other than that back to normal.

"You're crazy," Bobby said, suddenly joining them and looking at Lexiss. She sniffed, and crossed her arms.

"Are you saying you wouldn't have wanted me to go after her?"

"No, I'm just saying you're crazy."

"No, I'm a good friend. Well, I would've been, if John wasn't such a stubborn ass."

Rogue shrugged.

"He's expressing himself," Bobby said. The three of them started taking slow steps down the ramp. Both Lexiss and Rogue eyed Magneto and Mystique darkly. Rogue's major problem lay with Magneto himself, but Lexiss' personal vendetta was against Mystique. Just before the Liberty Island incident, while pretending to be John, she had tricked her into fleeing the mansion with Rogue, which had given Rogue up to Magneto for use during his attack against global powers at a world summit on nearby Ellis Island. She wondered how he had escaped from his plastic prison.

"Bobby's right, Lex," Rogue agreed, drawing her from her reverie. "He's trying to show he cares about you." Lexiss frowned, and turned her back to Magneto and Mystique.

"That doesn't mean he can just decide what I'm going to do for me," she muttered. She knew what Bobby and Rogue were saying was the truth, and she wasn't necessarily angry with John. She was just frustrated he had left before she could talk with him. Now would have been the perfect time to address… basically their entire relationship.

But, that was John's way of doing things. She would talk with him… just eventually, on his own terms. That wouldn't stop her from looking for him, though. Which meant she was just as stubborn as he was.

Great.

Lexiss sighed, and blew her hair up out of her face. Ororo approached their little group, and she turned to hear what she had to say.

"We're camping here for the night." Lexiss' eyes widened, and Rogue's jaw dropped. Bobby eyed them uncertainly.

"No way!" Rogue said heatedly. Ororo nodded.

"Yes, we are, and I don't want to hear a cross word about it from anyone," she said. Despite her cool, regal tone, Lexiss could tell it had been a far cry from what she had had in mind, and she wasn't happy about it either. "There are emergency tents and supplies in the plane for situations just as this. You three are in charge of unloading them and setting up camp. Go," she added, when the three of them were slow to start. Lexiss' frown deepened, but she turned and led the procession back up into the plane, Ororo's directions to the tents following them. She knew she wouldn't see John until after the work was done.

"He's probably in the woods, watching us and laughing," she muttered, opening a large compartment on the wall. Several collapsed tents were stacked atop one another.

"What?" Bobby asked.

Lexiss glanced over at him, and shook her head slightly. "Nothing. Let's go."

* * *

It had been late-afternoon when the plane had nearly crashed and Lexiss, Rogue, Bobby, and Logan started setting up camp. Ororo and Jean began making repairs on the jet, and they all worked until night had completely fallen. Then they, and Logan, had joined in on a meeting with Magneto and Mystique, leaving the three teenagers with dire warnings of what would happen if they tried to eavesdrop.

Every time Lexiss caught sight of the fire they surrounded, she scowled darkly in that direction, and not only because she had been barred from attending. She couldn't believe they were just standing around talking like Liberty Island had never happened.

She was setting up the last tent by herself. Rogue had gone back to the jet to look for a second layer of clothes, as she had to share a tent with Lexiss that night and she didn't want to hurt her in her sleep. Lexiss had told her not to worry about it, but Rogue had insisted.

She stood up from staking down the last corner, and walked around to the other side of the tent to connect the hose. With the sound of sucking air, the tent inflated. She straightened and put her hands on her hips, surveying her work. Sighing and rubbing the back of her neck, she turned around, running into Kurt, the German mutant from the plane, and nearly knocking him to the ground. Lexiss stumbled back a few paces.

"I'm sorry," she quickly said. "Are you alright?"

Kurt nodded. "Yes, fine," he said.

Lexiss offered him her hand and a smile. "We met on the jet, sort of. I'm Lexiss," she said.

He bowed his head, and shook her hand. "_Guten tag_. I'm Kurt Wagner, but in the Munich Circus they called me-"

"'The Incredible Nightcrawler'," she finished with a laugh. He smiled.

Lexiss paused, and then gave Kurt a warm hug. He seemed taken aback. "Thanks for going after Rogue," she said, letting him go. "You didn't have to."

He nodded again, and turned away with a slight smile. "_Bitte schon_." She waved slightly as he walked back uphill toward the jet. Lexiss sighed again, running her hands through her hair.

Time to find John.

* * *

At first, Lexiss simply wandered through camp, hands in the pockets of her jeans, surveying every living form she saw. None of the few wanderers were John.

She swore under her breath in frustration, looking out across the tents again. She only knew her tent, and that Bobby would be sharing his with John, wherever it was. She didn't know who was in the rest.

The meeting around the campfire had dispersed about twenty minutes ago, and she wasn't sure where everyone was now. She didn't want to go searching through every tent, but picking through the woods was even less appealing, so she walked purposely toward the nearest tent.

"John? Are you in there?" she asked uncertainly. There was movement inside the tent. Her voice grew in volume slightly. "John?"

Then she noticed the fabric door was unzipped. Her brows furrowed. "H-hello?" Lexiss reached for the flap, and as she was about to pull it back, someone quickly emerged from the tent. That person shoved her out of their way, and she fell back onto the ground. The figure stopped, and yellow eyes peered down at her.

"Mystique?" Lexiss said disbelievingly. The blue mutant stared down at her for a few seconds more, and then wordlessly walked away. Curiosity welled up in Lexiss, and she sat up on her knees, reaching forward to pull back the flap. She gasped.

"_Logan?_"

His head snapped up, and he stared at her. She wasn't sure he wasn't boring holes into her skull. Lexiss swallowed hard. "I won't tell anyone, I swear," she said quickly, letting the flap go and scrambling to her feet. She ran to the far side of the camp.

"LEX!" she suddenly heard Logan yell. She squeaked slightly, ducking down behind the nearest tent, slightly breathless.

"LEXISS!!"

This time, his shout seemed to be farther away. Biting her lip, she stood slowly, and, in a crouched position, looked over the top of the tent. Logan was going in the other direction, towards the woods.

Lexiss breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't ready to deal with that. She wasn't sure she'd ever be.

Well, this tent would be a good a place for a second try as any. As she came around the front, she noted Bobby's tennis shoes outside the flap. His was the only pair of shoes, but she knew John probably wouldn't care about what he tracked into his tent. Running from Logan had done something good.

At this time of night, she thought John might be avoiding her, and inside with Bobby. There was no movement in the tent; maybe he had already gone to sleep. She decided to try, anyway.

"John!" she whispered. There was no answer from anyone. She sighed, and sat cross-legged on the ground to the left of the tent flap.

"John, I… I wanted to… apologize," she said slowly. Admitting she was wrong wasn't one of her strong suits either. "For at Bobby's house… I did it because I didn't want you to hurt anyone… and I didn't want you to get hurt either. The cops were just doing their job, and you can't blame them for that. I-" She cut off suddenly as the tent flap began to unzip from the inside. She turned her head quickly, and Bobby stuck his head out. He appeared groggy; he had probably already been asleep.

"Oh, don't stop Lex, please," he said with a teasing grin. She reached over and smacked the back of his head.

"You ass! John's not in there, is he?" she hissed as he laughed.

"No," Bobby replied, shaking his head. She glared at him. "But I'll let him know you were here." He was still laughing as she stalked, fuming, back to her tent.

"You tell him I said go to hell!!"

* * *

Once she got to her tent, Lexiss wrenched the zipper up, went in, and closed it just as forcefully behind her. "Lex, is that you?" Rogue muttered from her blankets, turning over. She had been asleep as well. Lexiss didn't answer; Rogue knew damn well who it was.

She quickly slid out of her jacket, and slipped off her shoes before sliding under her own blankets. Even if she had had pajamas (she had left Bobby's house in such a rush they were still piled on the Drake's bathroom floor), she wouldn't have changed. It was too cold.

Despite her anger and frustration, she managed sleep quickly.

* * *

"Lex…" Someone shook her shoulder. She swatted their hand away. "Lex…!" someone said, slightly louder and more persistent. She rolled over and pulled her sleeping bag over her head.

"I don't care who you are and I don't know why you're in my tent, but get the hell out. And don't touch Rogue on the way out, either. She'll fucking kill you…" Lexiss mumbled, waving her arm. The person in her tent caught her arm and pulled her up.

Now partially awake, she squinted through the dark at the person's face. Despite her sleepy state, she wasn't entirely surprised to see him there. He was a very unconventional and unpredictable boy.

"John? What're you doin'?" she asked dully through a yawn.

"Get up," he said.

She yawned again. "Give me one good reason why I should get up in the middle of the night and go out into the cold just because _you're_ telling me to," she said. John sighed, and pulled her up.

"I can keep you warm. Let's go."

Lexiss barely managed to cram her feet into her shoes and grab her jacket before she was yanked outside. "John!" she whined.

"Ssh," he said, putting a finger to his lips. The instant she was pulled outside, the chilly night air snapped her into wakefulness. She tried to get her jacket on while John was pulling her arm.

"John!" she hissed. He was leading her up the hill towards the jet. He didn't say anything. "Johnny!"

Stopping beside the nose of the jet, he jumped, grabbed the flat edge, and pulled himself up onto the plane. He turned around, and put his hands down to her.

"Give me your hands," he whispered. Glaring at him, Lexiss grabbed his hands, and focused her mind on her weight, making herself lighter so she was easier to pull up.

They sat together at the front end of the plane for a while, not saying anything. Lexiss finally stretched out on her back, one knee bent, looking up at the sky. It was scattered with stars.

"So, St. John Allerdyce," she finally said. "What brings you into my tent in the middle of the night?" John, whose arms had been resting across his knees, laid on his back next to her. She looked over at him. "You say something perverted and I'll go back to my tent," she threatened.

He laughed. "Bobby said you were looking for me earlier," he said. "He also said you told me to go to hell."

"Oh, yeah," she said, the memory causing her to blush slightly. "I wanted to apologize for before," she said, suddenly getting a slight twist in her stomach. "For at Bobby's house, I mean. I didn't want you to… to get hurt, and so I did the first thing I could think of to stop you," she explained, careful not to look at him. He lifted his head up a little to look at her.

"And the first thing you could think of was to kiss me?"

"Shut up," she said. "It was on my mind."

He laid back down. "It's OK, I guess," he said after a moment. It didn't _sound_ OK, but she left it at that.

It was quiet again. Crickets chirped in the woods surrounded the jet. The small campfires that had been made earlier for light had died to orange coals. Everyone was down for the night. Lexiss sighed, watching the mist that issued from her mouth dissipate.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"How did you come to the mansion? You've never told me." He looked over at her.

"You first," he said. She propped herself up on her elbows.

"I've told you about Trish," she said.

"Yeah, and that thing you call a conscience hanging around your neck. But that was five years ago. You've only been at the mansion for what, two, three months?"

Lexiss sighed, and put her head back down, rolling Trisha's ring between her fingers.

"Deal," she agreed. She put one arm behind her head.

"After my sister died, and we moved to Vancouver Island in Canada, everything went on normally, I guess. My powers didn't resurface for a while, and I'd almost managed to force myself to believe that I didn't really make her die. When I turned fifteen, and started my freshman year in high school, I didn't have a lot of friends, but that was fine." She sat up, and rubbed her legs with her hands.

"I got this really big crush on a senior boy at my school. His name was Christopher." She laughed a little. "It was so cliché, too. Senior boy, freshman girl. Now that I think about it, it was all so stupid…" she said.

"Sounds stupid to me, too," John said darkly, sitting up next to her. She elbowed his arm.

"Don't sulk. You asked, so don't judge," she said. He didn't answer.

"I wanted him to notice me so bad," she continued. "I guess I accidentally got into his head or something. I didn't even know I had done it. But one day he followed me home from school, and tried to get into my house when I opened the door. If my dad hadn't been home from work early…"

She sighed. "Chris is in prison, now. I didn't want to press charges, but my parents and the police did, and I couldn't exactly tell them I was a mutant. I didn't even really understand what was going on myself. He should get out when he's about thirty," she finished.

She looked at him. "Your turn."

John shook his head. "That was still two years ago," he said.

"You're being serious tonight, John," she replied. He glanced at her.

"Is that a problem?" he asked quietly. She smiled slightly at him.

"Not really. I kind of like it," she said. "It's a good change of pace, for you."

She reached over, and brushed some hair out of his eyes. "Have I ever told I like your hair better down than when it's all gelled back?" she asked.

He laughed a little, and smiled a knowing smile. "You're stalling," he said.

She glared at him, and pulled her hand back. "Fine," she said reluctantly. She looked back out into the trees.

"I started applying for colleges in my senior year of high school, and got into a bunch, including Harvard. I wanted to major in political science so I could kind of fight for mutant rights. It was really the only thing I could imagine myself doing."

"Well, you're definitely good at fighting," John agreed.

She smiled. "You would know, wouldn't you?" she asked. "Well, anyway, my parents didn't want me to leave. They wanted me to go to a local college, and stay close to home. They still didn't know I was a mutant. I guess it's understandable, considering they lost one daughter, but I was so mad at them…

"We started fighting about it. I told my parents I hated them, and I thought about how much I just wanted them to disappear." Lexiss took a breath. "Then they just collapsed on the floor; it was like they were having seizures. I started freaking out, and it stopped, and they were back to normal again. It was like nothing happened. That's when I realized how dangerous I was. I made both of my parents forget all about me, and then ran away."

She looked at John with an arched eyebrow. "Are you happy now?" John nodded.

"Yeah, I'm pretty satisfied," he said.

"Now you have to answer my question," she pressed.

"Well, there's not a lot to tell," John said. "I was born in Australia, but I've lived in New York all my life. I was twelve when my powers manifested, and my parents practically disowned me. We weren't exactly on good terms to begin with, anyway. I lived on the streets until Xavier brought me to the mansion," he said nonchalantly, standing and stretching.

"That's not fair!" Lexiss exclaimed quietly, standing as well. He started walking toward the end of the plane. "John!" she hissed, following him. He put his hands into the pockets of the jacket he had got from the plane.

"I didn't ask you to spill your guts. I just wanted to know why you came to the mansion," he said. He was messing with her, and she knew it.

"John!" she said again, catching up to him. He had stopped.

"Ssh," he said, one hand raised. "Did you hear that?" Lexiss put her hands on his shoulders, and looked out in front of him.

"I didn't hear anything," she whispered. It was silent for a minute.

"There it is again!" John whispered.

"I don't hear anything!" Lexiss insisted. It was silent again, and she strained to hear what John was hearing.

John whipped around and grabbed her sides. "BOO!!" he said loudly.

She screamed and, realizing he had tricked her, shoved his shoulders. "JOHN!!"

He stepped back, laughing. "That was great," he laughed, holding his stomach. Lexiss pushed him again. He kept laughing.

"You're such an ass!" she said, shoving him a third time. This time, though, she pushed him too hard, and he stumbled and slid off the side of the plane. She heard the thud where he landed on the ground below. Her eyes widened. "Shit," she muttered, quickly laying down on her stomach and peering over the side of the plane.

"John! Are you there?" she whispered. She tried to see the ground, but it was too dark. "John!"

She sighed, and rested her chin on the edge of the plane. "You're not dead, are you? 'Cause then I might feel bad."

No answer. She frowned.

"You could at least grunt, Pyro," she sighed.

Suddenly, his hands appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her arms, and pulled her off the plane. She shrieked again as she landed half on the ground and half across John, who was laughing again.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she sat up on John's stomach, giving him a withering look. He quieted, propped himself up on his elbows, and commenced to looking at her.

"What?" she laughed. He smiled, and opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"Hello?" Jean's voice asked.

"Oh, damn," Lexiss muttered. Her voice was close; she had probably been making late-night repairs on the jet. Lexiss had thought everyone was already sleeping.

"Is someone out there?" Lexiss could hear her footsteps on the grass.

"What're we gonna do?" John hissed.

"Be quiet, don't say anything," Lexiss ordered, leaning forward. She placed a hand on either side of his head, and all of a sudden she could see right through him. He jumped.

"Hey! What the hell?!"

Lexiss shushed him. "I need to concentrate!"

Jean strode past, looking around. "Hello?" She stopped, turned, and stood in place, looking around for what seemed like an eternity. She was probably probing the area for any nearby brain patterns. Her telepathy allowed her to do that. Finally, she started back for the entry way of the plane.

When she had gone, Lexiss released John. "What'd you do?" he asked, slightly breathless, sitting up a bit as she rolled off of him onto her back, closing her eyes.

"It was invisibility so she couldn't see us, and then I shielded my mind and yours so she couldn't sense our thoughts," she explained.

"Oh," he shrugged.

She nodded. "Yeah."

They looked at each other, and burst into laughter. Neither was quite sure what was so funny.

When the laughter died, Lexiss studied John's face. It was easy, now that she and he were laying side by side. She had often wondered why she had ended up with John; it was a conversation she occasionally had with Rogue, sort of playing out different scenarios of what each other's lives might've been like with a few minor adjustments. She could never see herself with Bobby. He was so caught up in image, it just… just wouldn't click with her. John had that sort of adventurous, startling personality that meant when she was with him, she never knew what was going to happen. It was exciting to be with him, like a never-ending adrenaline rush. And he was very caring, in his own way, even though he was reluctant to show it.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked.

Her eyes met his, and held his gaze. "Nothing."

He frowned. "Seriously." He reached over, and gently poked her forehead. "What's going through that head of yours?"

She yawned, and stood up, careful to step only on grass. "Honestly? You really want to know?" she asked as she took his hands and helped him to his feet.

"Well, yeah." They started walking back toward camp.

Lexiss looked up at him. It wasn't hard; he wasn't that much taller than her.

"I was thinking about… you." She barely hesitated saying the last word.

John blinked. "Why?"

"I was thinking about how we have this really weird relationship. One minute, we're friends, the next you finally decide you want to be in a relationship, the next, we're fighting, and then it all starts over again." She smiled. "It's kind of a funny cycle, isn't it?" she asked. They stopped on the outside of camp, and she reached up and ruffled his hair. "I'm going to bed. I'm cold, it's late, and I'm tired. Night, Pyro."

* * *

Lexiss stopped in front of her tent, and stretched. "God, this is all going to suck in the morning…" she muttered, rubbing her arms again as a breeze started to blow through the camp.

She noticed she hadn't zippered the tent when she had left. Good. She hoped Rogue had frozen her ass off like she had.

She had one foot in the tent when John suddenly spoke from behind her.

"Hey," he said. She hadn't heard him following her.

She stopped, smiling a little to herself, and started to turn around while saying, "Johnny, whatever you have to say, I'm sure can wait until-"

Her sentence remained unfinished as John, in one fluid motion, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, kissing her just as suddenly as she had him earlier, although hers then had been merely a distraction. Lexiss' toes curled in her shoes.

After more than a few seconds, the two pulled back slightly.

"You know how I hate routine," he said.

She laughed. "So that's what you're doing," she said. "Breaking the cycle." She paused, looking up at him and biting her lip thoughtfully. "It's a good start."

He laughed, and let her go. She climbed into her tent and turned around to zip the flap closed.

"Good night," he said.

"Night," she replied. The last thing Lexiss saw before the tent zipper closed was his feet turning and walking away.

She smiled slightly to herself. "_Very_ good night," she whispered to herself, kicking off her shoes and sliding under her blankets, pulling them up to her chin. She didn't take off her jacket this time.

Damn that New York climate.

* * *

**One more chapter until the end of _The Promise Broken_! Are you excited?**


	5. Chapter 10

**The end of the second installment has arrived. I really like this chapter (it's even longer than the last one, actually), and I hope you do as well. The third installment, titled **_Last Words_**, should begin in a week of two, so please check back for that!**

**Anyway, please review once you've finished, and give me some feedback about this installment!**

* * *

_Chapter 10_

"Lex, get up."

Rogue was shaking her shoulder. Lexiss knew it was Rogue because she was the only one who would try to wake her up at this inhumane hour in the morning with such a… gentle voice. She knew it was an inhumane hour of the morning because of how bright the sun streaming into her tent was. Sunlight always seemed brightest in the morning.

She rolled over, putting her back to Rogue. "Go bug Bobby. Leave me alone," she said, pulling her sleeping bag up over her head.

"Lex, come on. We've got to go eat and stuff. I'm hungry…" Rogue commenced to begging in a sickly sweet tone of voice when she said nothing. "Lexi, come on, please? Lexi…"

Lexiss groaned. "Don't call me that," she mumbled.

"Lexi… Lexi…" Rogue shifted slightly. "You're just acting pissy 'cause you were out late last night," she mumbled. Lexiss didn't move.

"I was here all night, sleeping. I'm still tired from running all over the fucking east coast yesterday, so leave me alone," she replied.

"You were not in here all night, you liar," Rogue said. "John came in here late last night, woke you up, and you were gone for a really long time." She wasn't going to let it go, so Lexiss finally sat up.

She remembered now why she hated camping. That damp, heavy feeling that came with waking up in the morning that was still there even though being in a plastic tent in the early-morning sun was enough to fry anyone.

Squinting through the bright light, Lexiss could tell Rogue was already dressed. Her mind worked slowly, still groggy. If Rogue knew when she left and when she came back, she must've waited for her, and pretended to have been asleep.

"Why'd you stay awake, then?" she asked grumpily, running fingers through her hair to loose any tangles.

"Well, someone had to save you if John decided to… you know…"

The pillow Lexiss whipped at her stupidly grinning face forced her to flee from the tent laughing.

* * *

Lexiss emerged from the tent a few minutes later, her hair tied up in a bun, still in her jacket and her shoes on her feet.

No one from the meeting the night before had seemed to inform any of those who had been not attended of what was going on yet. Ororo gave Lexiss a bottle of water as she passed by quickly, doing a multitude of campsite chores at the same time, and Lexiss walked toward one of the rekindled fires where her friends were sitting. She took a seat next to John, glaring across the fire at Rogue. John had an equally foul expression for Bobby, who had a teasing smile plastered across his face. Kurt and Logan were also seated at the fire.

There wasn't much socializing to be done before Ororo, Jean, Magneto, and Mystique stood in front of them. "We're going to Alkali Lake," Jean announced. Lexiss flicked her bangs out of her eyes, and glanced at Logan. That was where the professor had sent him, when he had left three months ago. There was no reaction, however. He must've said everything he needed to say the night before.

"The man who attacked the mansion, William Stryker, has a base there. It's where he's keeping the professor and the children who were captured." No one said why they were in captivity. No one said how the professor, and therefore Scott, had gotten tied into everything. No one said how they were going to get them back. They just said it was a rescue operation.

Lexiss had barely finished her bottle of water before Ororo clapped her hands together. "Alright. Let's break camp."

* * *

It took two hours to completely pack everything back onto the jet and hide all traces that they had been there from people who might still be searching for mutants in nearby and scenic Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. Lexiss carefully avoided Logan all morning, even though several times he tried to catch her eye or pull her aside. It would be much more difficult to keep it up on the jet, however, and she wasn't looking forward to trying. She kept her word, though, and when Rogue asked why she wasn't talking to Logan, Lexiss told her she was imagining things.

Finally, everything was packed and everyone boarded. 'Everyone' included Magneto and Mystique as well, to the dismay of both Lexiss and Rogue. They kept to themselves, though, talking in whispers no one could hear, which suited Lexiss fine.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Rogue spoke. She was standing in front of one of the cased X-Men suits on the jet. "Why don't we get uniforms?" she asked.

"Yeah, where's ours?" Bobby agreed.

"They're on order," Logan said, suddenly emerging from the small, closet-like room he had been changing in. "Should arrive in a few years."

Lexiss was drumming her fingers on her knees. "I should've gotten one last time," she said thoughtfully. Rogue turned and laughed.

"Yeah. You came to rescue me in tennis shoes and a tank-top," she said with a grin.

Logan turned to look at her, and Lexiss inwardly groaned. She knew this had been coming; the jet had nearly reached Alkali Lake. "Lex, can I, uh… Can I talk to you for a minute?" he said. There was no way she could avoid it now, with everyone looking expectantly at her. John arched an eyebrow, and she shook her head slightly.

Clearing her throat, she smiled at Logan. "Yeah, sure," she agreed, pulling her legs out from their cross-legged position. Walking towards him, the last thing she heard from the back of the plane was Magneto's laughter, increasing in volume.

Logan stopped her in the middle of the jet, where the two of them were far enough from the back and the front that no one would be likely to hear what they were going to talk about. Logan wiped his mouth with his fingers.

"Uh, look, about last night-"

"I didn't tell anyone," Lexiss said quickly.

"Nothing happened," Logan whispered. Even though he was talking softly, it seemed harsh. He opened his mouth to say something more, waited until Bobby and Rogue, who had come up from the back, passed, and then closed his mouth, as if unsure of what to say.

"Why was she in your tent, then?" Lexiss asked.

"She came in to… talk to me about Stryker," he said hesitantly.

"What's he got to do with you, besides what went down at the mansion?" she asked. Logan extended the claws on one of his hands.

"He can manipulate adamantium," he said. She looked at the metal protruding rudely from his fist. "I think he's the one who did this to me." Lexiss believed what he was saying wholly, and she told him so. "But… you still won't tell anyone she was there, right?" he asked, as she started away.

Lexiss waved her hand dismissively over her shoulder. "Never happened."

* * *

Not long after, the plane landed amidst snow, mountains, and tall pine trees. By pressing a few buttons at the front of the jet, Ororo was able to produce a three-dimensional map of the Alkali Dam for study. Everyone gathered in the plane's cabin. Logan, Ororo, Magneto, and Mystique stood. John was sitting in a captain's chair with his arms up around the headrest, and Lexiss sat on the floor to the side of him, knees up, her head resting against the side of his leg. Kurt sat in the chair in front of her, Jean behind, and Bobby and Rogue were standing on the other side of the map.

"This is the spillway," Ororo was saying, pointing to one part of the map. "You see these density changes in the terrain? They're tire tracks."

The map altered to show just the spillway. Logan lifted his head slightly. "That's the entrance."

Ororo nodded. "And this shows the depth of the ice that's covering the ground. Now, this is recent water activity." Blue light showed the entire spillway filled.

"If we go in there, Stryker could flood the spillway," Jean said.

Ororo nodded again, and turned to Kurt. "Can you teleport inside?" she asked.

He shook his head, apparently disappointed he could not help in that respect. Or perhaps disappointed he couldn't help Ororo. Lexiss had noticed he had been watching her. She had tried talking with him about it during the flight, but he just laughed, and then muttered something in German.

"No," he said. "I have to be able to see where I'm going. Otherwise, I could end up inside a wall."

"I'll go," Logan said suddenly. "I have a hunch he'll want me alive." It made sense.

"Wolverine, whoever goes into the dam needs to be able to operate the spillway mechanism," Magneto said, walking through the map and disturbing the colors and shape. "What do you intend to do? Scratch it with your claws?"

A muscle in Logan's jaw twitched, and he stepped up to Magneto. "I'll take my chances," he said lowly.

"But I won't," Magneto replied, turning to look at Mystique.

"Wait a minute," Lexiss interrupted, getting to her feet. John caught the sleeve of her jacket, but she pulled her arm away. "Can we seriously trust her to go by herself?" she asked.

"Lexiss…" Jean said warningly.

"No, I think she's right," Logan said. Lexiss had been glaring at Mystique, but it was Magneto who caught her eye and replied. He slowly stepped up to her until he was towering over her. He was a good deal taller. She met his cold stare with one of her own. He leaned toward her face.

"Bane – Or is it Calypso, now? – you really don't understand what you're talking about, do you?" he asked. Lexiss' jaw tightened, as did her voice when she replied.

"I think I understand perfectly, Eric," she replied through clenched teeth, "and with some of the shit you've pulled, sending someone in who works for you isn't what I would call the most intelligent plan." As she spoke, her shape shifted into a perfect likeness of Magneto. He appeared only slightly surprised, and masked it quickly. In his voice, she added in a whisper only he could hear, "She isn't so special, now, is she?"

He didn't reply, and they stared each other down until Ororo finally said forcefully, "That's enough!" Lexiss quickly reverted back to her normal self, and turned to look at her, as did Magneto.

"It might not be the most 'intelligent plan'," she started, giving Lexiss a meaningful look, "but it's the only one we've got." She turned to look at Mystique as Lexiss frowned, and sat back onto the floor. "Go for it."

* * *

It took Mystique twenty minutes to get into the operating room. Her voice cackled over the radio. "I'm in." Ororo turned to look at Logan and Magneto.

"She's good," Logan said grudgingly.

"You have no idea," Magneto replied.

"Come on, let's go," John said to Lexiss, helping her to her feet as they joined Rogue and Bobby to get off the jet. Jean saw this, and turned.

"The four of you are going to stay here until we get back," she said.

"What?" Rogue asked unbelievingly.

"No way!" John exclaimed. Ororo turned back as well.

"She's right. It's too dangerous for you to be in there. Don't give me that look, Lexiss," she added, looking at younger woman. Leaving the four of them slack-jawed and incredulous, they left the jet, and the exit ramp.

Lexiss watched out the windows as the procession walked into the trees, and then were lost to sight. She threw herself down in a chair and commenced to sulking. "This sucks."

Rogue and Bobby sat in two chairs to her left, and swiveled around. John sat across from her.

"Well, they're just concerned about our safety. That's all," Bobby said.

"Don't be such a pansy ass, Bobby," John snarled. Lexiss arched an eyebrow at him. She thought he might be more pissed off than she was, and she was _pissed_.

Twenty minutes passed, by Bobby's watch. Thirty.

Lexiss suddenly thought of something as Rogue came to sit by her. Bobby had gone across the jet to talk to John.

"Hey Rogue," she said, turning her chair to look at her. "Remember when you said Bobby came to talk to you, and that's why you ran away from the mansion?"

She nodded.

"Did you get a look at his hand? Like, was there anything wrong with it?"

She knit her eyebrows, trying to remember. "Actually, if I'm remembering right, it looked sort of purple and green, like it had been bruised or broken, or something like that." She studied Lexiss. "Why?"

Lexiss turned her chair away from her, glaring out the windshield without answering.

Mystique.

Forty minutes.

The ground shook slightly. The four of them looked at each other, and out of the windows.

"I don't see anything," Bobby said.

An hour.

Lexiss sat in her chair. She paced. She fiddled with the controls of the jet, half-heartedly trying to figure out how to work it. Anger faded to boredom. It was no good being angry with people who weren't there.

She was pacing again, restless, when John finally got sick of waiting. His lighter, which he had been fidgeting with, flicked closed.

"That's it."

Lexiss turned to look at him. Rogue and Bobby, who were sitting next to each other at the front of the jet, silent, watched him as well. He reached between them to the jet's operating panel, and pressed the button to lower the ramp.

"Finally," Lexiss grinned.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Bobby asked, standing hurriedly and pulling Rogue up with him. Lexiss zipped up her jacket as John pulled one off the back of a chair.

"I'm sick of this kids' table shit. I'm going in there." He looked at Lexiss as he swung the jacket on. "You coming?"

She gave him a withering look. "And let you go by yourself? Not a chance," she replied.

Rogue looked between the two. "Guys, they told us to _stay here_," she sad.

John turned, and Lexiss stopped halfway down the ramp to look over her shoulder. "You always do as you're told?" he asked.

Rogue looked past him at Lexiss with pleading eyes. She shrugged, and gave her a reassuring smile as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

John strode past her. "Move your ass, Lex," he called over his shoulder.

Giving Bobby and Rogue a short wave, she leapt down the rest of the steps onto the snow-covered ground, and fell into step beside him.

* * *

Lexiss glanced at John out the corner of her eye as they entered the trees. He seemed entirely focused of the ground so as not to fall, so it surprised her when he spoke.

"Magneto said something to me today."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever he said, ignore it. That guy does nothing but spew shit," she said darkly. He glanced at her, but didn't reply as they started climbing up a steep, rock strewn hill.

Both were breathing heavily once they had reached the top, where it leveled off. "You know," she started, stopping for a few seconds to catch her breath, "if we're going the wrong way, I'll be pissed." John exhaled laughter, but he was cut off suddenly as a high-pitched sound shot through both of their heads. Lexiss dropped to her knees with a scream, hands over her ears, eyes watering. She gasped, sensing the professor in her head. It was him doing this, and yet… it wasn't.

"P… Professor…" she choked out, falling forward on her hands. John had collapsed onto his back with both hands covering his ears. He wasn't making any noise, but she could tell by the way his face was scrunched his head felt like it was going to burst, just like hers did. She managed to crawl toward him before crumpling completely, head on his chest. It was like a long, serrated blade was continually stabbing through her head. She curled up, hands over her ears, trying to push the professor out of her head. John's arms dropped down around her shoulders, and his feet slipped in the snow as he bent his knees, squeezing Lexiss tightly to him. Tears started to leak down her face from the unbearable pain in her head.

Just as suddenly as it all had begun, the high-pitched sound – and the pain that came with it – ceased. Lexiss gasped, and slowly pulled her hands down from her ears, raising her head off John's chest.

John.

She sat up quickly, sliding a little in the snow, and twisted around to grab John's shoulders as his arms slipped down to his sides. His eyes were closed. She started shaking him. "John. John! John, get up!" she said, her voice hoarse.

His eyes snapped open, and he quickly reached up and grabbed her wrists to keep her from shaking him further.

"Stop it," he said, starting to sit up.

Lexiss got to her knees as he sat up, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck. Surprisingly, he hugged her in return just as fiercely.

"I'm so glad you're OK," she whispered.

The two of them stayed like that for a while, neither wanting to pull back from the other. But finally, however, John let Lexiss go, and she let go of him.

"Did you stop it?" he asked as she stood up. She shook her head.

"It was the professor. I couldn't shove him out of my head," she replied.

John shrugged his shoulders. "Come on."

* * *

It seemed like this stretch of trees was never ending. The forest hadn't looked this big from the jet.

John suddenly put out his arm to stop Lexiss. "What?" she asked.

"Ssh. Do you hear that?" he said.

She glared at him. "If you're pulling that shit again, I swear, I'll-"

But then she heard it too. A loud, blaring alarm was going off to her right somewhere. She looked up at him, and he looked down at her. "You don't think…"

He quickly shook his head. "No."

Lexiss agreed even quicker. "Right."

Of course no one was in trouble. It was probably just an alarm someone had tripped that signaled for intruders or something.

They started walking again. The cold was beginning to get to Lexiss. Her wet jeans were rough against her legs. It wasn't long before the two stopped again, although this time, Lexiss stopped John.

"What's wrong?" he asked. She was trying to figure out that very thing.

"I… I don't know… Something with the professor," she replied.

John's eyes widened. "Is he doing that… _thing_ again?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah, I think… but it's not hurting mutants…" Lexiss gasped softly. "Oh my God…"

"Humans?" John asked.

She nodded mutely.

He looked around. "Shit…" he muttered, scrubbing a hand through his hair.

"I think Magneto had something to do with the switch." That wasn't Lexiss' own biased opinion; that was the feeling, the sense she was getting from the minds of her comrades she was managing to find. "We've gotta get in there and help," she continued, starting forward quicker than she had been moving before.

She didn't notice John's hesitation, nor the dragging of his feet once he finally following after her.

* * *

It was a silent ten minutes before Lexiss finally broke the line of trees, ahead of John. She stood on a slight hill that overlooked a flat part of the land covered in snow, with the lake and dam beyond.

The first thing she saw was a white, twin-blade helicopter. The engine was already running, and the blades were spinning slowly, gaining speed.

John stopped at her side. "Magneto," he said.

"And Mystique," Lexiss added vehemently.

The helicopter appeared ready to take off, but it sat on the ground. Waiting for something. Magneto's helmet prevented her from probing his mind, but at this range, Mystique's was an open book, one which she was eager to read.

Lexiss gasped, and turned, grabbing John's arm. "John. John!" she said, trying to get his attention. He finally looked away from the helicopter, and down at her. "They're waiting for you. _Why_ are they waiting for you?" she asked, her voice borderline frantic.

"I'm going with them, Lex," he said with a heavy voice.

"What?" she gasped, pulling her hand back.

He took hold of her upper arms. "Lex, you can come with me," he said. She was already shaking her head.

"No, I can't, John, I can't." Why wasn't she telling him he couldn't go, damn it? Why?

_Because you can't tell him what to do_, a tiny voice in her head said. _No one could ever tell John what to do. You know he wouldn't listen, anyway._

What that little voice said was true.

John shook her slightly, trying to persuade her. "Yes, you can, Lex! We don't have to listen to them anymore, to their ideals, and what they believe in. We can make our own choices, our own mistakes!" he said.

"John."

His hands were falling, and she caught them. "I can't go with Magneto. There's too much… bad blood… between us. I don't believe in what he believes in." She avoided looking at him.

"What about me?" he said in a low voice. She didn't say anything. There was nothing she _could_ say. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around him, under his arms, and buried her face in his chest. She was not going to cry. That was the promise she had made. She was **not** going to cry.

Try telling that to the tear ducts. She silently began to cry into his shirt.

Screw the stupid promise.

John wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her tightly. When she realized Magneto and Mystique would be watching, she pulled back, wiping her eyes.

"Um… here," Lexiss said, making a sudden decision. Sniffing, she reached up under her hair, her deft fingertips searching for the tiny silver clasp.

"Lex, don't-"

"Shut up," she said sharply, cutting him off as she pulled Trisha's necklace off, holding one end of the chain in each hand. Latching the two together again, she pressed the ring and chain into John's palm. "Take it," she said. Or rather, she commanded.

His fingers closed around it, and around her fingers. "Lexiss, I-"

"Go," she said suddenly, nodding her head in the direction of the helicopter and pulling her hand away. She rubbed the fingers he had been holding. "They're getting impatient. They're not going to wait much longer."

John glanced at the helicopter, and then quickly held her face in his two hands, one holding Trisha's ring, and kissed her. He pulled back after a few seconds, and silently asked her once more to join him. She shook her head, and smiled slightly.

"Go."

He turned, and started jogging toward the helicopter. Lexiss stood on the hill, watching him, feeling her chest compressed by regret at the same time. She put a hand to her throat. Every step he took in Magneto's direction – and away from her – caused her breathing to become more and more restricted.

She looked back up. John had gotten on the helicopter, and was standing in the window as it lifted off the ground. "Johnny…"

The helicopter swam in her tear-drenched vision, and she looked back down at the snow, wiping her eyes.

"Goodbye."

* * *

Lexiss had long since stopped crying, just like she had long since lost feeling in her legs. That's what happens when someone kneels in snow for twenty minutes. Her jeans were drenched, but she didn't care.

There were crunching footsteps behind her, but the realization that she was no longer alone didn't hit home until she heard a familiar gruff voice yell, "That helicopter was right here!"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly stood and turned around, wiping her eyes with the backs of her shaking hands.

"Lexi?"

Lexiss recognized Jubilee, even though her face was grimy, her hair was a mess, and she had a dirty grey blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Jubilee hadn't been her room mate for very long, as her, Lexiss, and Rogue had all been given their own rooms soon after Lexiss had arrived at the mansion, but it had been long enough for Jubilee to begin calling her that, and short enough for Lexiss to have been unable to break her of the habit.

Along with Jubilee, several other children from the mansion were with the X-Men who had left the plane, including Annabeth's brother, Damien. Lexiss hadn't known he had been one of the taken. She also noticed Ororo and Kurt were holding up the professor, and Scott had rejoined the party. Some part of her wondered where they had been, and how they had gotten to be there, but the bigger part of her didn't really care.

Ororo left Kurt supporting the professor, and hurried down to Lexiss. She took hold of her shoulders. "Lex, why aren't you on the jet? And why are you here alone?" she asked, shaking the younger girl a bit. Her eyes focused on Lexiss'. "Why have you been crying?"

Lexiss sniffed, on the verge of tears again. "J-John left with Magneto and Mystique. On the helicopter," she said shakily.

"Oh…" Ororo sighed, hugging her.

"I'm sorry…" Lexiss cried into her shoulder. She had no idea why she was apologizing. There was nothing she could have done, which was as much as Ororo told her.

She pulled away from her as Lexiss heard a loud rumbling sound behind them. She turned, and saw the large black jet hovering above the tall dark pine trees. It started to fly sideways, dangerously low to the ground, and then it landed heavily in the flat clearing and slid a little further to the right before coming to a complete stop.

"Bobby and Rogue," Lexiss realized, wiping her eyes again.

Everyone started sprinting through the snow toward the plane. Kurt vanished in a puff of smoke, teleporting the paralyzed professor aboard.

"Come on, Lex," Ororo said. "The dam is going to burst; we need to get out of here." Lexiss nodded mutely as Ororo started pulling her along. She stumbled at first, and then started moving robotically, automatically. Ororo pulled her aboard, and then, when she was sure Lexiss wasn't about to fall over, headed for the controls with Scott. For some reason, the jet was losing power.

Lexiss stood in the aisle amidst all the activity, hugging herself and shivering slightly. Finally, she stepped to the side, and sat wordlessly in a captain's chair, not even bothering to belt herself in. She gripped the armrests without even realizing it, not taking in anything that was going on around her. She jumped when Rogue kneeled down next to her and spoke.

"Lex, where's John?" she asked.

Lexiss looked at her, and when she answered, her voice carried no emotion. "He's gone with Magneto."

Sympathy crossed Rogue's face. It was only the second time Lexiss had seen it, and she was beginning to grow tired of it. She did, however, appreciate her second hug in the last five minutes.

"Thanks," she told her. Rogue gave her a reassuring smile, rubbed her shoulder, and took the seat across from her. Bobby must've heard, because he flashed her the same kind smile over his shoulder while he began seating the younger kids in the aisle seats in the back of the plane.

Five minutes later, Logan came aboard late, one more kid in his arms. He handed him to Bobby, and then moved to the front of the plane as well, merely glancing in Lexiss' direction. She was sure he had heard what she had told Ororo, and was grateful he didn't say anything. She might be out of tears for now, but she was quickly restocking, dwelling on the memory.

Despite all the work the X-Men were doing to get the jet off the ground, suddenly the plane lost all power completely. Lexiss was dead from it all. She drew her legs up to her chest, and rested her forehead on her knees, interlacing her fingers in front of her ankles.

She lifted her head, though, when Scott and Logan started looking around for Jean. Lexiss could sense her presence, just not on the plane.

"She's outside," she heard the professor say, seated across the aisle from her. Scott turned from the jet's control board and started running for the ramp. Just as he reached it, the stairs flattened and the ramp rose, shutting and locking in place. Power was suddenly restored to the plane. Jean was supplying the external power Scott had been looking for.

"No, we're not leaving!" he yelled, impassioned. "Lower the ramp!"

Probing the nearby landscape, Lexiss suddenly knew. The dam was collapsing. Alkali Lake was going to gain a lot of ground in the next few minutes.

"Storm! Lower it!" Scott yelled at her.

"I can't!" Ororo replied, flipping switches and pushing buttons to no avail. Leaning into the aisle, Lexiss could see a massive wall of water approaching the jet. The water suddenly parted, and although she couldn't see Jean, she knew it was her telekinesis at work. "She's controlling the jet!" Ororo said. Lexiss had had no idea Jean was so powerful. Logan whipped around.

"You, get her, now!" he demanded of Kurt. She could tell he was trying – and failing – to teleport.

"She's not letting me!" he said.

"I know what I'm doing," a quiet voice suddenly said. It was the professor speaking, although Lexiss knew who was really in control. "This is the only way."

Scott took two long strides and dropped to his knees at the professor's side. "Jean, listen to me," he said. "Don't do this." He sounded near tears. After all, he and Jean were practically married.

"Goodbye," the professor whispered.

"Oh no, no!" Logan yelled, punching a seat in frustration.

"No! No!" Scott said quietly. Lexiss could feel the jet lifting off the ground. Once the plane was in the air, and out of danger, the waters closed.

"She's gone…" Logan murmured. "She's gone."

Scott lunged for Logan. "DON'T!! YOU DON'T SAY THAT!" he yelled. "We've gotta go back." Logan stumbled back, barely defending himself. "No! No…" Scott was adamant. Then he just collapsed into Logan, sobbing.

Religious Kurt began a quiet prayer.

"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

Lexiss respectfully pulled her head back from the aisle, and put her forehead back to her knees.

Her stomach didn't turn once all the way to Washington D.C.

* * *

Lexiss wore her new X-Men uniform for the first time in the president's Oval Office. It was black, like Logan's and Scott's and Ororo's, but hers was lined in dark red. Bobby's was lined with white, and Rogue's was lined in a forest green.

She noted the surprised look on the face of America's leader, who had just been about to make a speech condemning mutants.

"Good morning, Mr. President," Professor Xavier said. From the way the president suddenly tensed, he had noticed Kurt. "Please, don't be alarmed," Xavier said. "We're not going to harm anyone."

The president stood. "Who are you people?" he asked.

"We're mutants," the professor replied. "My name is Charles Xavier. Please, sit down," he offered.

"I'd rather stand," the president answered quickly.

The professor called to her without turning his head. "Lexiss."

Silently, she strode forward, holding the blue file folder in her hand. She looked the president squarely in the eye. It was men like this that had made John leave. People who damned mutants because they were different.

"Lexiss," the professor repeated.

She placed the folder on his desk with perhaps a little more force than necessary, and then returned to her position between Bobby and Rogue. Simultaneously, as if they understood her thoughts, her two best friends took her hands.

"These files were taken from the private offices of William Stryker," Xavier said.

Everyone waited while the president looked inside the folder.

"How did you get this?" the president finally asked.

"Well, let's just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls," the professor replied. Kurt laughed softly in the corner, until the president gave him a cold look.

"I've never seen this information," he said as he sat back down in his chair.

"I know," Xavier replied, with knowledgeable air.

"Then you also know I don't respond well to threats-"

"Mr. President, this is not a threat. This is an opportunity," the professor cut in. "There are forces in this world, both mutant and human alike, who believe that a war is coming. You will see from those files that some have already tried to start one, and there have been casualties." Lexiss had to moderate her breathing, and her eyes watered, both for John and Jean. Rogue squeezed her hand.

"Losses," continued the professor, "on both sides." Logan looked across at Scott, who Lexiss could see wasn't bothering to try and restrain his tears. Bobby caught her eye, and silently mouthed the word, 'family.'

"Mr. President, what you were about to tell the world is true. This is a moment." Professor Xavier tilted his head. "A moment to repeat the mistakes of the past… or to work together for a better future. We're here to stay, Mr. President. The next move is yours."

Logan eyed the president. "We'll be watching," he said.

With a particularly violent clap of thunder and bright flash of lightning, provided by Ororo, time resumed, and the X-Men vanished.

* * *

Lexiss readjusted her position on the cushioned window seat so she could better see out the window. Not that there was much to see, since it was nighttime and the bright lights of the rec room behind her made it difficult to see the drive of the mansion out the window.

She sighed, resting her forehead against the cool window pane and closing her eyes. It was a fruitless watch to hold - she had known that since Day One - and yet she fell asleep in the seat every night, and awoke in the same position every morning to resume it.

"_Guten tag_."

Lexiss opened her eyes, and turned her head. "Kurt!" she said. Her smile faltered a little when she saw him wearing his rhinestone-studded jacket. At this time of night, it could only mean one thing.

"You're leaving?" she asked. She slid her feet off the end of the window seat, and patted the cushion, offering him the seat next to her. He took it, crossing the room to sit next to her.

"_Ja_. It is not like me to stay in one place for so long." She looked at him curiously.

"But, it's only been a month since we've gotten back," she said.

"A month is a long time to sit in one place," he said carefully. Lexiss' guard suddenly rose.

"It's your turn now, isn't it?"

He shrugged, avoiding her gaze, and she sighed, tilting her head back so it rested against the wall. Why not? Everyone else had come to talk to her. First Ororo, then Logan, then Bobby and Rogue, together and separate, then Ororo and Logan again. Xavier had finally come around as well, with a few well-chosen and philosophic words to recite. They had made sense, but they were too long and flowery to recall.

"Your friend will not return, Lexiss," Kurt said. Now his yellow eyes bored into hers. She blew her bangs out of her eyes, and turned to face the window.

"I know that," she replied softly. "But… I'd like to think… for just a little longer…" She sighed, and then smiled widely, looking back at Kurt.

"I'll miss pulling your tail," she said with a smirk. Kurt gave her a big smile, showing her his fangs, and laughed loudly and deeply. To demonstrate her point, she tweaked the pointed tail curled at his side.

"I shall miss you as well, _bekannte_," he said.

Lexiss narrowed her eyes at him. "You're kinda depressing to be around once the goodbyes come," she said, poking his chest.

He suddenly enveloped her in a big hug. She grinned, hugging him in return. "Now, that's more like–" She choked suddenly, and found herself in the tight space that came only with teleporting. She couldn't move, but felt Kurt's shirt against her cheek.

The tight space all of a sudden expanded, and Lexiss could breathe once more. She stumbled away from Kurt, looking around. She was standing on the carpeted floor of her room.

"You teleported me!" she yelled. Backing into her bed, she reached for the first thing within an arm's length – one of her many pillows – and whipped it at him. He teleported onto her dresser. As it wobbled, he teleported again, this time back to where he had started as the pillow hit the wall behind him and slid to the floor.

"Yes, and I am sorry. But you cannot sit by the window forever, Lexiss." She stared at him for a moment, and then she dropped down onto her bed.

"I know, damn it!" she said, bringing her hands up to her face and gripping her bangs in her fingers. "I know." Her throat clenched, and the corners of her eyes burned, but she blinked rapidly and swallowed hard. John's departure had been difficult to deal with, and still was, and Jean's death was like adding insult to injury. Perhaps she hadn't been as close to her as she was to Ororo or Logan, but like Lexiss had told Bobby, and like he had told her, Jean had been her family. "Excuse me for trying to hang on to something decent!" she shouted. She knew John wasn't ever going to come back. He had gone after what he believed, and Lexiss had stayed with her belief. That was how it was. Is.

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her arm, and looked up at Kurt, who was standing there, watching her. "I'm sorry for throwing my pillow at you," she said thickly. He shook his head.

"It is alright-"

"No, it's not!" she said forcefully, staring at the floor. "And I'm sorry."

He bowed his head. "I forgive you."

Lexiss nodded, and stood.

"So, do you have to-"

"Yes," he said. She sniffed, and walked toward him, hugging him again.

"So, I'll see you around, right?" she asked, once she had let him go. He nodded.

"We will see each other again, Lexiss."

She smiled. "Goodbye, Kurt."

He bowed his head again. "_Auf wiedersehen_." With a now familiar, static-like sound, he teleported away.

Sighing, Lexiss turned to look at her made bed. It hadn't been slept in since the raid of the mansion. She knew she should wonder who had made it, but she didn't care. It was the least of what she wanted or needed to think about.

She crawled onto it, and dropped, head on her remaining pillows. She was tired.

She just wanted to sleep forever.

* * *

**Cue X-Men Theme**


End file.
